11 Testing Reading

8/13/2019 11 Testing Reading

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11

Testing

ReadingGerardo Gamboa Aceves

Paola Vega GarzaNéstor López Ochoa

Alejandro Navarro Villarreal



Specifying what the candidateshould be able to do

Specify what we want to test

Content (Operations, types of text,adresses and topics)

Criteria levels of performance



Content

OPERATIONS

There aredifferent levelsof analysis

MACRO-SKILLS

MICRO-SKILLS

GRAMMARAND

LEXICALABILITIES

LOW-LEVEL



We have different macro-skills (related toneeds or to course objectives)

Scanning text Specific information Skimming text Obtain the gist

Identifying stages of an argument

Identifying examples presented in supportof an argument



We also have micro-skills

Identifying referent of pronouns, etc.

Using context to guess meaning ofunfamiliar words

Understanding relations between parts oftexts.



What is the exercise of straight-forwardgrammatical and lexical abilities, such

as: Recognizing the significance of the use of

the present continuous with future time

adverbials Brother: Male sibling



Low-level operationsm = n

b = d

p = q



Readers will have different views as to

what goes into sucessful reading.

We will see the broad levels of readingprocesses at which testing is most usefully

carried out.



Low level operations are useful fordiagnostic purposes No formal testing

Grammatical and lexical ability

Diagnostic or grammar and vocabularytests No reading tests

Micro-skills and Macro-skills Reading

Tests!!!!It is when we have students to test readingabilities



Micro-skills Achievement tests

Micro-skills are being taught not as anend in themselves but as means of

improving macro-skills. Micro-skills and macro-skills must be

balanced in an final achievement test andproficiency tests



TYPES OF TEXTSTextbook, novel, magazine, newspaper,academic journal, etc.1. They might be further specified(newspaper report), or described by test

designers2. We do not know that the different typesof texts actually present readers withdifferent tasks Rang of texts in the text



Backbash Reading of a narrow range oftext types

Authenticity: Use authentic texts dependson what it is intented to measure

RSA test of reading uses the same

extensive text for all levels of ability, butthe items are different.



ADDRESSES

Related to text types and not specifiedfurther.

-Intended audience

TOPICSIndicate the range of topics in only verygeneral terms



Guided Short Answers



The danger with short-answer questions is, ofcourse, that a student who has the answer inhis or her head after reading the relevant part

of the passage may not be able to express itwell (even the scoreer may get confused). Consider the question: “What changes have

taken place in the attitudes of many Europeanuniversities to different varieties of English?”

Even without knowing the intended answer, one

suspects that it may create problems ofproduction unrelated to reading ability. In such cases the desired response can be

obatined by framing the item so that thecandidates have only to complete sentencespresented to them:

Complete the following, which is based on thefourth paragraph of the passage.

´Many universitiesin Europe used to insist hattheir students speak and write only _________Now many of them accept ________ as analternative, but not a _______ of the two.´



Summary Cloze

A reading passage is summerized by thetester, and then gaps are left in the

summary for completion by the candidate. This is really an extension of the guided

short answer technique and shares itsqualities.

It permits the setting of several reliablebut relevant items on a relaively shortpassage.



Information Transfer

One way of minimizing demands oncandidates‟ writing ability is to require

them to show successful completion of areading task by supplying simpleinfromation in a table, following a routeon a map, lablling a picture, and so on.



Techniques for

Particular PurposesIdentifying order of events, topics, or arguments.



The candidate may be required tonumber the events etc.

In what order does the writer do the following in herarticle? To answer this, put the number 1 in theanswer column next to the one that appears first,and so on. If an idea does not appear in the article,

write N/A (not applicable) in the answer column. A) She gives some of the history of migraine. ___

B) She recommends specific drugs. ___

C) She recommends a herbal cure. ___

D) She describes migraine attacks. ___

E) She describes general advice to migraine sufferers. ___



Identifying referents

This is, to have the student find termswhich pronouns replace/to which

pronouns refer. For example: “What does the word „it‟

refer to in line 25?”



Identifying the meaning ofunfamiliar words from context

The student must determine the meaningof a word from cues in the text and

question. The desired difficulty level willdetermine the depth of the question.

For example: “Find a single word in thepassage (between lines 1 and 22) whichhas the same meaning as „making oflaws‟(the word in the passage may end in–s or –ing).”



In reading, isolated microskills cannot beevaluated. For example, when asking for

the meaning of a word, the context mustbe understood and referents must beused (otheriwise the question would notbe possible).

This suggests that these items hold aplace in final evaluations and achievementtests.



HOW TO DEVELOP A READINGTEST

The wording of items should be simple,direct and clear, ideally of a lower level

than the text provided. Items should notgive out details that make could answerthe question.

Sometimes, wording in the student‟s

native language might pose a betteroption for objective testing, but care mustbe taken to ensure that the wording doesnot divulge more than it should.



Procedures for writing items

The text should be fully understood. Notes ontopics, main arguments, special lexicon, and thesuch should be taken where needed.

Next, the level of items for evaluation should bedetermined, taking into account the students‟proficiency and the purpose of the evaluation(diagnostic or mid-term, for example).

Paragraph and line numbering, if needed, shouldbe added now. After this, the text and itemsshould be presented to a board of reviewers.Further modifications may be needed.



Extra Advice

Items for a scanning test should bepresented in the order they are asked for.

Do not write items for which the answer canbe found without reading the text. Thismeans that both the question must be deepenough to necessitate reading the text andthe wording must be such that it does notgive out important information.

Scoring should only take in account thereaders‟ ability, not their vocabulary orgrammar in the answers. Multiple choicetests are excellent tools for this.

11 Testing Reading

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