Bài giảng Phương pháp kiểm tra và đánh giá học tập - Chapter 8: Testing reading comprehension

Chapter 8
Testing reading 
comprehension
Chapter 8
Testing reading comprehension
I. The nature of the reading skills
II. Initial stages of reading: matching tests
III. Intermediate and advanced stages of 
reading: matching tests
IV. True/false reading tests 
V. Multiple choice items
VI. Completion items
VII. Rearrangement items
VIII. Cloze procedure
IX. Open – ended and miscellaneous items
X. Cursory reading 
IV. True/false reading tests 
 one of the most widely used tests of 
reading comprehension
 The scoring: straightforward & quick
 scoring obtained by the testees 
very reliable indices of reading 
comprehension if well constructed 
and tests & enough items
 Disadvantages of True/False items
(1) encourage guessing- 50% 
chance of giving a correct answer 
for each item; 
(2) the base score is 50%, so the 
average test difficulty is 75 % 
the test may fail to discriminate 
widely enough among the testees 
unless a lot of items. 
 Some guidelines for True/False 
items
 Each item should be as clear and 
concise as possible.
 True/false reading tests are classified 
into 2 categories: 
(1) independent of a reading text; 
(2) depending on a text.
 Notes
 The construction of true/false items 
based on a reading extract (type 2) 
forms one of the most widely used 
types of reading tests. 
 This kind of item is effectively used 
at both elementary and more 
advanced levels. 
V. Multiple choice items
 Short texts: (p.116-117)
(1) at elementary, intermediate and 
advanced levels
(2) described as a test of 
comprehension of grammatical 
structure
(3)consisting of a very short reading 
extract of only a few sentences; 
The testees to answer only 
one comprehension test item on 
each reading passage (see in 
TOEIC tests). 
 Longer texts
 a useful way of testing reading 
comprehension, but not all 
multiple choice reading tests are 
necessarily good tests of reading 
comprehension
 The sample of the reading 
passage: the most important & 
related to the broader aims of the 
language teaching situations 
 Notes
 In a test of proficiency, the text 
should contain the type of reading 
task which will be demanded of 
the testees in later real life 
situation.
 In a class progress test or 
achievement test, the reading 
passage should be similar to the 
type of reading material which 
students have done at school.
 The length of the reading extract
 elementary level: 50-100 words 
 intermediate level: 200-300 words 
 advanced level: 400-600 words 
 Passages dealing with a series of 
events, a collection of facts, or 
different opinions and attitudes 
suitable for multiple choice items. 
 The number of items depending 
on the length and complexity of 
the text. 
VI. Completion items
(p.124-129)
 requiring the testees to supply a 
word or a short phrase, but the 
test constructors must ensure that 
there is only one correct answer 
 Type 1: consisting of blanks for 
completion in the items following 
the text.
 Type 2: consisting of blanks in the 
text itself. The blanks have been 
substituted for what the test writer 
considers the most significant 
content words. 
VII. Rearrangement items
 useful for testing the ability to 
understand a sequence of steps in 
a process or events in a narrative
 Type 1 (jumbled sentences): Ss 
have to unscramble or arrange 
sentences in the correct order.
 Type 2: The jumbled sentences of 
this type are based on a reading 
comprehension text and should be 
unscrambled in the light of the 
information contained in the text. 
VIII. Cloze procedure
 In cloze tests, words are deleted 
systematically & the construction 
of a cloze test is purely 
mechanical.
 The most common purpose of 
cloze test is to measure reading 
comprehension; it measures 
textual knowledge (an awareness 
of cohesion in a text).
 A true cloze text is generally used 
to measure global reading 
comprehension although insights 
can undoubtedly be gained into 
particular reading difficulties.
IX. Open – ended and 
miscellaneous items
 The term ‘open-ended’ refers to 
questions which elicit a completely 
subjective response on part of the 
testees.
 The response required may range 
from one-word answer to one or two 
sentences.
 When marking open-ended items, at 
least two or three marks should be 
awarded for each correct answer.
 Test constructors should write 
down precisely how marks should 
be awarded as the marking 
scheme will serve as a reminder 
all the times.
 Brief guidelines are essential if 
more than one examiner is 
marking the items.
 The text itself can determine the 
types of items.
 A reading comprehension 
passage may be followed by one 
or two multiple choice items, 
several true/false items, a few 
completion items and one or two 
open-ended items. 
X. Cursory reading
 ‘cursory reading’- a general term 
to denote the skills involved in 
reading quickly: skimming & 
scanning
 Skimming: glancing through the 
text to get the gist / main idea of 
the content
 Scanning: skills used in reading to 
locate specific information
 The actual reading speed 
considered necessary will be 
largely determined by the type of 
the text and will be vary according 
to the purpose for which it is being 
read
 poor readers: below 200 wpm; 
 average speed: 200-300 wpm;
 fast readers: 300-500 wpm
 A small number of questions 
concerning only the major points 
and general outline of the text are 
given in tests of skimming.
 Testees are not allowed to refer 
back to the text while skimming 
but to jot down notes.
 Tests of speed reading should be 
administered only when students 
have been prepared for the tasks 
involved in such tests.