ASSESSING LANGUAGE SKILLS - The testing of discrete language items vs more integrative or global assessment of language - traditional or standard means of assessment vs alternative means Methods of Testing Reading Comprehension ① Types of Reading ② Level of Meaning ③ Comprehension Skill ④ Testing Method

Types of reading Items and procedures can be written so that they implicitly or explicitly call for a given type of reading ① Skim or Scan(≠search reading) for a lengthy passage in a limited time ② To read receptively ③ To read responsively The test constructor to indicate explicitly to the respondent the type of reading expected

Level of Meaning ① Grammatical meaning ② Propositional meaning ③ Discoursal meaning ④ Writer’s intent the discourse one is the most attention in the literature in recent years , especially the reader’s perception of rhetorical functions conveyed by text. Writer’s intent is the worthy of more attention by teachers and other test constructors , especially author’s tone.

Comprehension Skill ① The ability to recognize words and phrases of similar and opposing meaning ② Identifying or locating information ③ Discriminating elements or features within context ④ Interpreting of complex ideas, actions, events, relationships ⑤ Inferencing-deriving conclusions and predicting the continuation ⑥ Synthesis ⑦ Evaluation

Test Method The cloze and the C-test ① The origins of the cloze test(traditional fixed word deletion) A series of tests that had one- or two-word deletions, rational deletion, and partial deletion from the beginning or end of words. ② Gap-filling procedure(rational-deletion cloze) Words are deleted according to predetermined, primarily linguistic criteria, often stressing the area considered to be underrepresented, namely, macrolevel discourse links ③ C-test The second half of every other word is deleted, leaving the first and the last sentence of the passage intact.

Testing Method Computerized Adaptive Testing(CAT) Approach to testing whereby the selection and sequence of items depends on the pattern of success and failure experienced by respondent. Advantages of CAT ① Individual testing time may be reduced ② Frustration and fatigue are minimized ③ Boredom is reduced ④ Test scores and diagnostic feedback may be provided immediately ⑤ Test security may be enhanced ⑥ Record-keeping functions are improved ⑦ Information is readily available for research purposes Disadvantage of CAT Presumes that one major language factor or underlying trait is being measured at a time.

Communicative Tests of Reading Comprehension Good test is not only valid, reliable, and practical in terms of test administration and scoring but acceptable-that is, accepted as fair, important, and interesting by test takers and test users. Also, feedback potential, rewarding both test takers and test users with clear, rich, relevant, and generalizable information. Story line test – one of the particular variety of communicative test A test with a thematic line of development. Common theme runs throughout to assess the effects of context. Respondents learn ad they read on Swain(1984) : The test consisted of six tasks around a common theme, “ finding summer employment. There were four writing tasks and two speaking tasks. Swain’s main concern was to “bias for best” Brill(1986) Complete a communicative story line test which included five tasks dealing with membership in a youth group.

Canal(1985)viewed communicative tests as “ proficiency-oriented achievement tests” and offered five reasons supporting this view. ① Such tests put to use what is learned ② Focus on the message and the function ③ Group collaboration as well as individual work ④ The respondents use their resourcefulness in resolving authentic problems in language use ⑤ The testing itself is more like learning, and the learners are more involved in the assessment.