Cloze Module 2 Activity 7

Introduction Have you ever seen a test like this? In 1894, Percival Lowell selected Flagstaff, Arizona ___ the place to build his new observatory. ___ spent many years in Flagstaff studying what ___ believed to be evidence of life on ___ planet Mars. Today, we know Lowell was ______ and there is no life on Mars. _______, Lowell was right in thinking that the ______ system is bigger than other scientists thought. ___ also inspired the search for Pluto. Sadly, ___ did not live to see the discovery ___ Pluto in 1930. Because of Percival Lowell, ________ at Lowell Observatory can continue to work.

Introduction What do you think that this is a test of? Reading? Vocabulary? Grammar? In 1894, Percival Lowell selected Flagstaff, Arizona as the place to build his new observatory. He spent many years in Flagstaff studying what he believed to be evidence of life on the planet Mars. Today, we know Lowell was ______ and there is no life on Mars. _______, Lowell was right in thinking that the ______ system is bigger than other scientists thought. ___ also inspired the search for Pluto. Sadly, ___ did not live to see the discovery ___ Pluto in 1930. Because of Percival Lowell, ________ at Lowell Observatory can continue to work.

Introduction This is what we call a cloze. In 1894, Percival Lowell selected Flagstaff, Arizona as the place to build his new observatory. He spent many years in Flagstaff studying what he believed to be evidence of life on the planet Mars. Today, we know Lowell was ______ and there is no life on Mars. _______, Lowell was right in thinking that the ______ system is bigger than other scientists thought. ___ also inspired the search for Pluto. Sadly, ___ did not live to see the discovery ___ Pluto in 1930. Because of Percival Lowell, ________ at Lowell Observatory can continue to work.

Cloze Tests You are probably familiar with the cloze test. This is when examinees are given a text with some words missing, and they are asked to fill in those words.

Types of Cloze Tests There are common types of cloze tests: Fixed-ratio cloze C-tests

Types of Cloze Tests Fixed-ratio cloze tests are where every nth word is deleted. This means that the test developer decides to delete every 5th or 7th or 9th word in a passage and follows this pattern. For example: In 1894, Percival Lowell selected Flagstaff, Arizona ___ the place to build his new observatory. ___ spent many years in Flagstaff studying what ___ believed to be evidence of life on ___ planet Mars.

Types of Cloze Tests C-tests are where the first two letters of the missing words are provided for examinees. For example: In 1894, Percival Lowell se_________ Flagstaff, Arizona as the place to bu_____ his new observatory. He ______ many years in Flagstaff studying what he _______ to be evidence of life on the _______ Mars.

Cloze Tests What do you think these types of cloze test measure? Reading comprehension? Vocabulary knowledge? Grammar skills? Fixed-ratio cloze C-tests

Cloze Tests The answer is that it depends. Let’s look at each of these separately: reading comprehension vocabulary knowledge grammar skills

Cloze Tests and Reading Comprehension Think about how you would take a cloze test. Would you read the entire passage first to understand the main idea? Or would you focus more on local understanding?

Cloze Tests and Reading Comprehension Studies have shown us that when examinees take a cloze test, they focus more on local understanding. They use the words right before the blanks to help them figure out what the missing word is. Cloze tests are not a good measure of reading comprehension because they do not require examinees to understand the main ideas and details of a passage.

Cloze Tests and Vocabulary Knowledge Again, think about taking a cloze test. Does filling in the missing words require vocabulary knowledge? If, so what type of vocabulary knowledge does it require? Is it productive knowledge or receptive knowledge?

Cloze Tests and Vocabulary Knowledge You have probably realized that it depends on the type of cloze test. When the words are not provided, examinees need to know how to spell the words.

Cloze Tests and Grammar Skills Again, think about taking a cloze test. Do you need to know grammar? If so, what do you need to know?

Cloze Tests and Grammar Skills Again, it depends on the type of cloze test. In fixed-ratio cloze tests, the test taker needs to have general grammatical knowledge in order to choose the correct word- the words that are deleted could be any part of speech (articles, verbs, nouns, etc.) In c-tests, examinees need to know grammar to write the endings of words (for example, cat versus cats)

Cloze Tests Cloze tests can be a way to measure specific skills. If you use a cloze tests, you should first decide what you want to measure. This will help you decide what type of cloze test to use. Fixed-ratio cloze C-tests

Cloze Passages If you use a cloze test, you should also think about how long the text should be. Here are some general suggestions: Elementary students: 50-100 words Intermediate students: 200-300 words Advanced students: 400-600 words

Cloze Tests: Scoring The last important decision you need to make when deciding to use a cloze test is how you will score responses on it. There are two ways to score: Exact word Acceptable word

Cloze Tests: Scoring If you decide to use the exact word scoring method, it means that test-takers can receive credit only if they write the one correct word. Even if the word makes sense, if it is not the one correct word, it is scored as incorrect. The exact word scoring method is most appropriate for high- stakes tests, like placement tests.

Cloze Tests: Scoring If you decide to use the acceptable word scoring method, it means that test-takers can get credit for any word that makes sense, even if it is not the original word from the passage. The acceptable word scoring method is most appropriate for low- stakes classroom tests.

Piloting After you make a cloze test, you should pilot it. Pilot means to try a test before you give it to examinees. Piloting is very important because it allows you to see if the test has any problems. We will talk more about piloting tests when we talk about writing test items.

Cloze Fixed-ratio cloze C-tests Review: (to) pilot / Piloting Key Terms & Concepts Cloze Fixed-ratio cloze C-tests Review: (to) pilot / Piloting

Next Steps Now, you will do Assignment #3.