Post on 30-Mar-2015
Principles of Assessing ReadingDr. Rima Al Zadjali & Aqil Al Ajmi12th ELT International Conference18th and 19th of April, 2012
Workshop Structure
1. Survey of practices and beliefs2. Factors that influence reading test
scores3. Test specifications4. Pros and cons of some item types5. Critical Analysis of reading test
tasks6. Developing reading test items7. Reflections on tasks and discussions
Get into groups and answer the survey.
Appoint someone to be the spokesperson.
Surveying Practices and Beliefs
What is reading ability?
Discussion of group answers“the ability to decode and comprehend text at the same time – the ability to make sense of what is being read.” (Penner-Wigler, 2008: 1)
“the interaction between a reader and a text” (Alderson, 2000:3) “Dynamic, variable, different for the same reader on the same text at a different time or with a different purpose in reading ”
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
ConstructIntelligence
A complex psychological concept.
The complete set of knowledge, skills, abilities, or traits an assessment is intended to measure (Lloyd, Davidson, & Coombe, 2005).
Reading
An attribute, proficiency, or ability, or skill defined (Brown, 2005).
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Construct
Text Difficulty
Refer to page 17 of your handout.
Why is knowing text difficulty important?
How do I know text difficulty?
Microsoft Office Word
Vocabulary profiler
A word of caution!
These statistics are estimates of L1 reading difficulty.
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Construct
Text Difficulty
Task Constraints
The use of the dictionary & test duration
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Refer to page 5 of your handout
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Task Familiarity
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Task Familiarity
Test Taker Ability
Test takers’ ability
Test Difficulty
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Task Familiarity
Test Taker AbilityTest takers’
abilityTest
Difficulty
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Task Familiarity
Test Taker AbilityTest takers’
abilityTest
Difficulty
WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE READING SCORE RECEIVED BY A TEST TAKER?
Text Selection
Task Familiarity
Test Takers Ability
Construct
Text Difficulty
Task Constraints
Test Specifications
Refer to page 4 of your handout
Item Types
Discussion of group answers
Critical Analysis of Reading Test Tasks
Turn to page 8 of your handout.
Hands on experience
Items to write Group
MCQ Group One
True/ False Group Two
Short Answer Group Three
Matching Group Four
End of Workshop!
Thank you!
Dr. Rima Al-ZadjaliAqil Al-Ajmi
rima@squ.edu.omaqil@squ.edu.om