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Measuring and Evaluating Progress in Reading
*Joseph A . W i p f
ilBS TRAC'T C a r e f u l e v a l u a t i o n of s t u d e n t pro- fo l lowing a discussion of s i g n i f i c a n t t e s t c o n c e p t s , ~ r e s s and t e a c h i n g e f f e c t i v e n e s s is o n e of t h e m o s t t h e w r i t e r c o n v e y s guidelines f o r p!anning a n d con- ;lorinidable t a sks f a c i n g t h e fo re ign l a n g u a g e s t r u c t i n g test i t e m s , p rov ides nu ine rous e x d riples !teacher. I hough s o m e inAtruct ional m a t e r i a l s f o r e v a l u a t i n g r e a d i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n in b c t h f o r - provide e v a l u a t i o n in s t run len t s , m a n y t e a c h e r s mal a n d infor-nal s e t t i n g s , a n d inakes sugge \ t io , i s prefer to co i i5 t ruc t t h e i r obi] quiLLes a n d e x a m - f o r p re - a n d p o s t - t e s t a c t i v i t i e s . nations t a i lo red to the i r s p e c i f i c needs . Thus,
____--_-
Evaluat ing s t u d e n t pi-ogress is one of t h e i no j t
Important func t ions oi t h e clas\roorn t e a c h e r .
This 15 e spe i id l ly t i -uc for t e a c h e r s of to re ign lan-
guages, s i n c e they a r e t e a c h i n g one of t h e inos t
sequentidl coinponents of the curl-icululn. C)nce
'careful ly-def ined goals iiav:. been e s t a b l i s h e d a n d
classrooin p r o c e d u r e s have been des igned to hc lp
students i n e r t t l izin, a he l l -p l anned e v a l u a t i o n
prograin hhould be c a r r i e d o u t td d e t e r m i n e i f t h e
'goals h a v e been met, i.e., t o s e e i f s t u d e n t m a s t e r y
, o f i na t e r i a l has b e e n s a t i s f a c t o r y a n d to e s t ab l i sh
the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t each ing . In o r d e r t o d o this ,
both fo r ina l a n d inforrnal t e s t i n g p r o c e d u r e s will
R e a d i n g co rnprehens ion r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e
reader b e f a m i l i a r w i t h t w o f u n d a m e n t a l bui lding
b locks of t h e t a r g e t l anguage - - s t ruc tu re a n d vo-
cabu la ry . ' Thus, i n add i t ion to t h e t e s t i n g of r e a d i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n in a global s e n s e , t e c h -
n iques f o r t e s t i n g v o c a b u l a r y a n d s t r u c t u r e will
also be sugges t ed .
T h e f o l l o w i n g t e r m s are f r e q u e n t l y e m p l o y e d
in discussions of e v a l u a t i o n , a n d t e a c h e r s should b e
f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e m . I t is of u t m o s t i m p o r t a n c e t o
k e e p t h e s e c o n c e p t s in m i n d as tests are be ing
c o n s t r u c t e d a n d e v a l u a t e d .
N o r m - r e f e r e n c e d test: A n o r i n - r e f e r e n c e d need t o b e cinployed-- the f o r i n e r c o n s i s t i n g pri-
marily of exa rn ina t ions ove r one o r m o r e un i t s of 1 test co rnpa res a s t u d e n t ' s a c h i e v e m e n t w i t h
t h a t of o t h e r s t u d e n t s c o m p l e t i n g t h e s a m e study, a n d t h e l a t t e r i nc lud ing q u i z z e s a n d sub jec -
tive judgrnents of s h o r t - t e r m l e a r n i n g assign- f .
ments.
Jose h A. W I I (Ph.D., The Ohio S t a t e University) is Assistant , Profzssor of l e r m a n and Foreign Language Educatlon a t Purdue
University, West La faye t t e , Indiana.
1. See, f o r example, Rebecca M. Valette, Modern Lan uaze Testing: A Handbook (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovantvvich, 19671, p. 109; and John L.D. Clark, Foreign Language Testing: Theory and Prac t i ce (Concord, Mass.: Didier USA, 1972), p. 94.
569
iiicjterial.L In other words, t e s t results a r e
i ised to rank s tudents ; s tudent dchievernent
I S r-t,lated to a norin.
(:ri tcr ion-referenced tes t : A tes t prepared on
the basis of Instructional object ives to de-
tci- l i i i i ic to what degree learners have
iii,istcrcd thc conten t of assigned mate-
r i a l ~ . ~ ( I n keeping with t h e widely-used
prc?cticp of establishing performance ob-
Ic'ctives and awarding grddes on a percent-
sgc lbasis, anajor einphasis i n th is writing
u i l l be placcd oil c-riterion-referenced tes t -
ing.)
L > ~ I - L T t es t : A t es t which requires t h e use of only
ttic one foreign language skill being evalu-
3tcd.
H y b r i d tc'st: A t e s t on which t h e learner must
--__
4 iisc two or more foreign language skills.
- Reliability: The degree to which a t es t
produces t h e s a m e resul ts under t h e s a m e
conditions on d i f fe ren t o c ~ a s i o n s . ~ Other
things being equal, t h e longer a t e s t is, t h e
more rel iable i t will be.6 Thus, if a t eacher
2. t l r l e i i L. Jors tad, "Terting as Communication," in The __- ('li,illenge of Coinriiunication: ACTFL Review of Foreign L z guagt' Education, Volunie 6, ed. Gilbert A. Jarvis (Skokie, Ill.: National Tekthooh, 1974), 224.
3 . Keiineth Chastain, Developing Second Language Skills: Theory to Pract ice , 2nd ed. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976), pp. 4S7-88.
wished t o t e s t how well s tudents had mas-
t e red one hundred vocabulary i tems, an in-
s t r u m e n t tes t ing twenty-f ive of the words
would be a more rel iable index to the
degree of mas tery t h a n a t e s t of ten of the
words.
Validity: A valid test is one which measures
what i t intends to test.7 For example, a
reading t e s t which requires s tudents to re-
spond orally to questions may not be a valid
reading t e s t because i t also requires the use of t h e speaking skill. The students may indeed be comprehending what they are
reading, but t h e diff icul t ies of responding
orally may prevent them from displaying
the i r reading ability.
Recal l tes t : The learner must produce the cued
responses ra ther than se lec t t h e correct
ones. A recal l test measures the students'
abi l i ty to apply funct ional understanding in
order to produce language. Recall items
must be used t o eva lua te t h e productive
skills of speaking and writing. In cases
where t h e recept ive skills serve as stimuli
to t h e product ive skills, t h e principle of
t es t ing one language skill a t a t ime can be
modified. 8
Recognition tes t : Students se lec t the appro-
p r i a t e answer from a number of alterna-
tives, ranging f rom t w o in true-false items,
to more than t w o in a multiple-choice test
(usually three , four , or five), to several
grouped i t e m s in a matching exercise.
These types of i t e m s a r e best suited for
tes t ing t h e recept ive skills of listening and
reading. 9
Objec t ive t e s t i tem: Object ive tes t items are
designed t o e l ic i t specif ic responses from
t h e learner . Since t h e r e i s normally only
o n e c o r r e c t answer, these i tems can be
4. Krbrcca M. Valette, 9 g., p. 73.
5. John W. Oller Jr., "Discrete-Point Tests versus Tests of Integrative Skills," In Focus on t h e Learner: Pragmatic Perspec- tives for the Lan u d e Teacher , ed. John W. Oller Jr. and Jack C. Kichardr-le;, hFass.: Newbury House, 1973), p. 184.
6. Paul Pimrlrur , "Testing Foreign Language Learning," in __ Trcndr i n Ldnguage Teaching, ed. Albert Valdrnan (New York:
7. Wilga M. Rivers, Teaching Foreign Language Skills
8. Kenneth Chastain, 9. e., p. 496.
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968), p. 290.
McCraw-Hill, 1966), p. 180. 9. E.
scored quickly and eff ic ient ly . Groups of
scorers cor rec t ing t h e s a m e test paper
should a r r ive a t t h e s a m e score." Exam-
ples of object ive t e s t i t e m s are: true-false,
multiple-choice, f ill-in-the- blank, and
rn a tc hing.
Discrete-point t e s t i tem: An itern which gen-
erally a ims a t t es t ing one and only one point
of grammar , vocabulary, etc. a t a t ime. I 1
Tests of integrat ive skills: These t e s t s ernpha-
s ize reading r a t e and general fluency. They
a r e a global measure of reading profi-
ciency.12 I tems tes t ing t h e in tegra t ive
skills a r e usually based on a longer reading
passage followed by a ser ies of questions
tes t ing coinprehension of conten t . The pur-
pose of such an itern is to tes t one of t h e
language skills in d more sustained se-
quence.
Cloze tes t :
13
A language tes t employing t h e
cloze technique de le tes every 5 th word
(usually t h e f i f th , sixth, or seventh) f rom a
passage of prose. The learner responds by
replacing t h e missing words or by providing
other contextual ly acceptab le words in t h e
blanks. 14
'Reverse' d o z e test: Dist ractors or nonsense
words a r e interposed randomly into a tex t .
The learner 's task is to identify t h e dis-
t rac tors by circl ing them 01- crossing them
out. 15
It is widely agreed t h a t , a s fa r a s possible, e a c h
:ski l l should be tes ted separa te ly frorn all o ther
~ki1 ls . l~ In other words, if i t is feasible , a pure t e s t
rather than a hybrid one should be utilized. Beyond
10. Rebecca M. Valette, 9 g., p. 10.
11. John W. Oller Jr., 9. g t . , p. 190.
12. E., pp. 187-88.
13. Kenneth Chastain, a&. g., p. 496.
14. John W. Oller Jr., 9. g., p. 192.
IS. Helen L. Jors tad, a&. g., 244. 16. Kenneth Chastain. OD. cit.. D. 490: Frank M. Grit tner .
leaching Foreign L a n g ~ a k a N G Ybrk: Harper and Row, 1969), p. 341; Wilga M. Rivers, T. Gt., p. 296.
t h a t , t h e various aspec ts of e a c h skill should be
ident i f ied and tes ted one by one.17 Not following
this prac t ice can gravely t h r e a t e n t h e validity of a
tes t . If a t eacher wishing t o cons t ruc t a valid
reading test requires t h e learner to employ multi-
ple skills and t h e resul ts a r e unacceptable , this
m a y be a t t r ibu tab le to def ic iencies in t h e subsi-
diary skills. In this case t h e teacher would not
have given a valid reading test, because other
skills may have grea t ly influenced t h e results. At
a t ime when instruct ional prograrns a r e becoming
more and more ta i lored t o individual t a s t e s and
needs, it is impera t ive t o be ab le t o t e s t each skill
a s a s e p a r a t e ent i ty .
Sample i t e m s appearing in t h e next sect ion of
this paper will i l lus t ra te various ways of construc-
t ing pure reading t e s t items. In ac tua l prac t ice ,
however, t h e to ta l separat ion of skills is not al-
ways feasible. In some classrooms t h e four lan-
guage skills a r e inextr icably inter twined, and this
is o f ten re f lec ted in t h e t e s t s teachers construct--
especially in informal evaluat ion sessions. When
construct ing hybrid tes t s , however, every e f for t
should be made t o minimize diff icul t ies and obsta-
c les in t h e subsidiary skills.
Once t h e initial question of what to tes t has
been answered (Vocabulary only? S t ruc ture only?
Reading comprehension a s a global skill? etc.), a
decision must be reached concerning how this rna-
ter ia l will be tes ted, i.e., what itern f o r m a t will be
utilized. Although listening and reading a r e t h e
17. Wilga M. Rivers, m.
572
easiest of t h e four skills t o t e s t objectively," this
i tem f o r m a t has some dis t inct disadvantages in
comparison t o f r e e response i tems. Among t h e
most not iceable drawbacks a r e these: object ive questions inevitably introduce t h e chance f a c t o r ,
and they can be diff icul t and t i m e consuming to construct.19 On t h e plus side, o n c e object ive t e s t s
have been constructed, they can be cor rec ted easily and rapidly by hand or machine, allowing
prompt feedback of t h e results. In addition, this
f o r m a t lends itself well t o i t em analyses.20 In fact, it is imperat ive to ana lyze constant ly and
improve these i t e m s on t h e basis of s tudent re-
sponses. Teachers would be well advised to s t a r t a bank of i t e m s for tes t ing reading as well as t h e
o ther skills. 21
If t h e teacher se lec ts i t e m s of a subject ive
nature , t h e question of whether answers should be
given in English or t h e t a r g e t language needs to b e
resolved. While t h e r e appears to be s o m e relaxa-
t ion in t h e no-English dictum so prevalent earlier--
at leas t for tes t ing p u r p ~ s e s ~ ~ - - V a l e t t e ~ ~ has
caut ioned against re inforcing t h e dangerous ten- dency to establish word-for-word equivalents be-
tween English and t h e t a r g e t language by using
English in vocabulary test items. O n - t h e o ther
hand, accept ing responses in t h e t a r g e t language
could allow s tudents t h e l iber ty of simply manipu-
la t ing t h e language and f requent ly copying direct-
ly f rom t h e reading t e x t without real ly compre- hending what they have read unless questions a r e
very careful ly worded. In summary then, t h e teacher has two major
questions to be answered before test i t e m s can b e
18. Kenneth Chastain, *. %., p. 496.
19. John L.D. Clark, 9. a., p. 102. 20. For a discussion of how an item analysis might be under-
taken, see Kenneth Chastain, * %., pp. 499-502; and Paul Pimsleur, 9. %., pp. 210-13.
21. For some valuable techniques on the preparation of multiple-choice test items, see Gilbert A. Jarvis, "Systematic Preparation of the Multiple-choice Listening Test," NALLD Journal, 5, ii (1970), 18-25. In addition, teachers may b x ested in obtaining used exams from organizations such as the American Association of Teachers of German. Used exams contain items which can be modified to meet the testing needs of a particular school.
22. John L.D. Clark, o& g., p. 97.
23. Rebecca M. Valette, o& %.
constructed: (1) What i s going to b e tested?, (2) Which i tem f o r m a t is appropriate?
X:Y, pl i t f:! i i :
Attent ion will now be focused on ac tua i test i t e m s as they r e l a t e to t h e concepts and principles
discussed above. Examples will be provided for the
t h r e e a r e a s we wish to evaluate: vocabulary,
s t ruc ture , and reading comprehension in a global
Vocabulary and s t r u c t u r e will be tested
by d iscre te i t e m s and t h e global skill of reading
comprehension by i t e m s of a n in tegra t ive nature.
In addition, suggestions will be given for evalu-
a t i n g reading comprehension in informal, class-
room tes t ing s i tuat ions while employing the other t h r e e skills.
I. Vocabulary
A. True-false. The r e a d e r a c c e p t s or rejects the s t a t e m e n t read.
-La ne ige est blanche. (T) - Jacques est m a soeur. (F)
vided i s appropriate. B. Multiple-choice. Only o n e of t h e answers prc-
S e l e c t t h e word which is most appropriately assoc ia ted wi th t h e underlined word.
-11 s'assied. *a. c h a i s e b. t a b l e a u c. rnur d. fene^tre
S e l e c t t h e most appropr ia te completion of t h e sen tence .
-P ier re voulait se desa l te re r parce qu'il avait-. a. fairn b. t o r t c. raison
*d. soif
- J 'habi te New York. Je n'ai pas envie de prendre l e b a t e a u pour a l le r en France. Cette fo is je vais prendre-. a. l e t ra in b. I 'autocar c. l e rn4tro
*d. I'avion
24. The author gratefully acknowledges the permission of the following to reprint items from their publications: A-LM French: Level Three, 2nd ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace J O E vich, 1 9 7 1 ) , A - L M Spanish: Level Two (New York: Har- court Brace Jovanovich, 1961 , p. 179; Kenneth Chastain, o e., pp. 499, 550; John L.D. C l k k , p cit., pp. 99, 102; Gilbert% Jarvis etd., ConnGtre et se c o n n a t r e m e w York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1976), p. 17; National German Examination for Hi& School Students: Second Year German (Princeton, N.J.: Educa- tional Testing Service, 1975), pp. 3, 4, 6, 10 (Permission granted by the American Association of Teachers of German); NatioW German Examination for High School Students: Four- German (Princeton, N. J.: Educational Testing Service, 197.51, p. 6(Permission granted by the American Assosation of Teachers of German); Paul Pimsleur, OJ. %., pp. 209,210; and RebeccaM. Valette, G., pp. 114, 125, 127.
du Klavier spielen? a. Weisst b. Kennst
*c. Kannst d. Machst
-P ier re donne toujours des ordres 'a ses ainis, et 'a ses fr'eres et soeurs. C e l a indique q u e P ier re a tendance 2 & r e -. a. pat ien t b. docile
-Quand Jeanine a un probl'eme, e l le a i m e pat-ler d son arnie Franqoise p a r c e que
*c. autor i ta i re
Frdncoise est une personne---. a. rnhdeste b. ind i f fe ren te
*c. percept ive
3. Se lec t t h e most appropr ia te response t o t h e question.
-Senor+ l q u i e r e usted que sirva l a c a r n e
a . i C u a n t o es la ganancia?
c. Si, hay rnucho ganado. d. No s i rve para nada.
dhord"
*b. No, espere usted un rdto.
One of t h e key components in any evaluation program is proper
preparation of s tudents f o r tes t ing sessions.
-Hans, wo ist denn dein Regenschi rm? a . Im Kuchenschrank in der obers ten Lade. b. Dort urn die Ecke, d ie z w e i t e S t rasse
links. c. Nachsten Sommer will ich nach l talien
fahren. *d. Ach, ich habe ihn wahrscheinlich im
Buro vergessen.
4. Se lec t t h e response t h a t mos t appropr ia te ly cont inues t h e conversation. -Jurgen: Ich muss rnich sehr beeilen, ich
sol1 um 8 Uhr f ruh bei Herber t sein.
Dieter: Was habt ihr Jurgen: a. Vor einer Woche.
*b. Wir gehen fischen. c. Das ware zu mat.
denn vor?
d. Hesser als gar nichts.
5 . Antonyms: Se lec t t h e words c loses t to meaning t h e opposite of t h e underlined word(s) in t h e sen tence .
- Jean s e m e t 2 son travail . a. n'organise pas b. veut qu i t te r
d. d fdirn pendant *c. terinine
C. Matching.*' S tudents c a n b e asked to m a t c h synonyms, an tonyms, names of objec ts wi th n a m e s of groups or c lasses of objects, names of ob jec ts with occupations, etc. In order to avoid reaching c o r r e c t answers by t h e process of elimination, l ists of unequal length , severa l i t e m s of which c a n b e m a t c h e d wi th m o r e than o n e i t e m or o thers which d o not m a t c h at all , c a n be provided.
D. Definit ion of underlined words or expressions. The s tudent provides definit ions in English of s e l e c t e d words and expressions underlined in a reading passage.
11. S t r u c t u r e
A. Multiple choice.
I. Se lec t the most appropr la te response t o t h e question.
-iVinieron ellos a l a inauguracion? *a. No, no pudieron a c e p t d r l a invitacion.
b. Si, pude ir. c. No, no vinirnos en coche .
Se lec t t h e most appropr la te completion of t h e sen tence .
-de va a casar con e l rubio o con e l moreno? Eso no Io--hasta e l domingo pr6ximo. a. supirnos b. saldrernos
*c. sabremos d. sepamos
-Mit Hilfe-Freunde konnte ich d ie Arbe i t schnell beenden. a. einiges b. einige c. einigen
*d. einiger
-Er hof f t , dass ich ihm dabei helfen-. *a. werde b. wird c. wirst d. werden
-Hier, Rober t et P i e r r e s o n t ' a l a plage.
*a. all& b. all& c. a l l6e d. a l lees
3. Se lec t t h e appropr ia te English equivalent of t h e pr in ted sen tence .
-11 a v a i t lu l e journal. a. H e r e a d t h e newspaper. b. He will have r e a d t h e newspaper. c. H e will r e a d t h e newspaper.
*d. H e had read t h e newspaper.
Testing reading comprehension a s a global skill.
A. Pure reading iterns.
2.
111.
I. Multiple-choice. R e a d t h e following pas- sage carefully. I t i s followed by a number of incomple te s t a t e m e n t s . In e a c h c a s e s e l e c t t h e completion t h a t is best according t o t h e passage.
La rnadre y 10s herrnanos d e Arnalia l a l laman "la dorrnilona." Casi todos 10s dias d e la s e m a n a l a c h i c a s e l e v a n t a muy t a r d e y a menudo l lega a sus c lases media
25. Wilga M. Rivers, 9. a., p. 313.
hora despugs q u e s u s cornpaneras. En carnbio, e n 10s f ines d e setnana cuando sus padres no t ienen que levantarse t a n temprano, A m a h a se levanta muy temprani to . Es ta costurnbre le moles ta rnucho a su m i i n a e n par t icu lar , y por eso e l la le d ice a Arnalia q u e l a farnil ia t e n d r 6 que obtener un nuevo t ipo d e calendario--uno sin el s sbado y el dorningo.
I . A Amalia l a han noinbrado "dorrnilona" porgue (A) se l e v a n t a ternprano todos 10s s5bados y dorningos. (B) se a c u e s t a t d r d e c a d a noche de l a sernana. (C) se despier ta media hora despues q u e sus amigas. ( D ) s e l e v a n t a t a r d e d u r a n t e la sernana.
2. Kefiri6ndose al ca lendar io sin el s i b a d o y el domingo, l a rnadre de Amalia l e habla en *(A) brotna. (B) balde. ( C ) serio. (D) vano.
3. Los padres de Arnalia t ienen que levantarse ternprano (A) el shbado y el dorningo.
( C ) c u a n d o su hija no se despierta. (D) rodos 10s dias.
*(B) c a d a dia inenos el sabado y el dorningo.
"Une 6 to i le ici? Pas possible," disai t Jacques. "Comment peut-il y avoir une &toi le dans une ville? E t au dixierne &age d'un i m n i e u ~ l e ? " "Pourtant, cet objet a bien I'air d 'une &toile," r6pondait Louis. "N'es-tu pas de rnon avis?"
I . On a l'impression que Jacques e t Louis sont des (A) hornmes. (HI professeurs. ( C ) g r m d e a peraonnes.
2. Les @toiles s e t rouvent gCn6ralement (A) sur la rner.
*(B) dans l e ciel. (C) dans l a cuisine. (D) par te r re .
3. C e t t e scPnc s e passe (A)B l a campagne . (8 ) sur la plage.
*(C) dans un appar te rnent . (D)dans un res taurant .
*(D) giirfons,
4. Une &toile ici? Jacques n e peut pas y *(A) croire. (8 ) ressembler. ( C ) rcgarder . (D) ecouter .
In einern a l ten Sprichwort heisst es: "Kinder und Narren sagen d ie U'ahrheit." Das 1st den El te rn n ich t irnmer angenehm, wie die fo lgende G e s c h i c h t e zeigt. --Ein funfjahriges Madchen karn weinend in e ine Polizeistation in e iner grossen Stad t . Die Polizisten dachten , s ie h a t t e i h r e Mut te r verloren und f r a g t e n sie, wie s ie heisst und wo s i e wohnt. S ie versprachen ihr, dass s ie ih re Mut te r schon finden wurden, a b e r das Kind wollte e t w a s anderes. Sie sagte: "lch wunsche mir ein neues Kleid, a b e r inein Vater will es mir n ich t kaufen." Die
Good tests can play a major role in motivating
s tudents to do their best work.
Polizisten lachten und s a g t e n ihr , dass s ie ihr da nicht he l fen konnten. Vielleicht h a t der Vater nicht genug Geld. "Oh, e r h a t irnmer Geld," sagte das Madchen, "er rnacht jeden Abend neues, wenn e r von der Arbeit nach Hause komrnt." Nun begannen d ie Polizisten sich fur die Sache zu in te ress ie ren . "Wie meins t du das, e r macht neues? Er kornmt wohl von der Arbeit nach Hause und bringt m i t , was e r verd ien t hat?" "Oh nein, e r hat eine grosse Maschine und m i t der m a c h t e r jeden Abend Geld." --Die Polizisten b a t e n nun das Midchen , s ie zu ihrem Vater zu fuhren. Und d o r t fanden s ie wirklich "die Maschine," von der das Kind gesprochen ha t te . Der Vater niusste g r s t e h e n , dass e r fa l sches Geld gedruckt hatte, und sass bald im Gefangnis (prison).
I. Das kleine Madchen kam zur Polizei , weil sie (A)Geld gefunden ha t te . (8) ih re Mut te r verloren ha t te .
(D) ihren Weg nach Hause n ich t flnden konnte.
2. Die Polizisten lachten , weil das Kind (A) ein neues Kleid a n h a t t e .
(C) bei ihnen bleiben wollte. (D) seinen Namen vergessen ha t te .
Das Madchen e r z a h l t e den Polizisten, dass ihr Vater (A) sehr wenig Geld verdient. (B) keine Arbei t hat . (C ) ihr alles kauf t , was s i e will.
4. Als das Madchen von e iner Maschine sprach, lachten d i e Polizisten n ich t rnehr, denn die Geschichte
(B) war ihnen zu durnrn. (C) konnte n ich t wahr sein. (D) d a u e r t e z u lange.
5. Das Madchen f u h r t e die Polizisten zu ihrem Vater, weil (A) sie sich vor ihnen f u r c h t e t e . (8) s ie nach Hause gehen wollte. ( C ) es dunkel geworden war. *(D) die Polizisten es wunschten.
6. In der Wohnung z e i g t e es sich, dass das Kind (A) gar keinen Vater ha t te . (8) und se ine El te rn sehr a r m waren.
(D) kein neues Kleid brauchte.
7. Der Vater des Kindes wurde bes t ra f t , weil e r (A) n ich t f u r sein Kind sorg te .
(C) die Maschine gestohlen ha t te . (D) d ie Polizisten angelogen ha t te .
*(C)sich uber ihren Vater beklagen wollte.
*(B) e t w a s Unmogliches verlangte.
3 .
*(D) irnmer genug Geld hat.
*(A) begann s ie z u interessieren.
*(C) die Wahrheit gesprochen ha t te .
*(B) ein Geldfa lscher war.
8. Diese Geschich te ze ig t , dass *(A) d a s a l t e Sprichwort r e c h t hat.
(5 ) m a n Kindern und Narren n ich t glauben soil. (C) Kinder s ich vor der Polizei furchten. @ ) m a n die Kinder s t r e n g e r e rz iehen sollte.
2. True-false. Af te r you have read the pas- s a g e below, dec ide whether t h e statements following i t a r e t r u e or false.
Les e n f a n t s sont pas encore leves parce qu'ils se sont couches t a r d hier soir. Mais nous sommes a u rnois d e juil let et il n'y a pas d'eclose. Alors les e n f a n t s n'ont pas besoin d e se lever de t r e s bonne heure. -Les e n f a n t s sont e n c o r e couches. (T) -11s ont c lasse demain. (F) -L'6cole c o m m e n c e e n juillet. (F)
3. "Reverse" c l o z e tests. As you read the following passage, c ross out t h e words that a r e obviously out of contex t .
Habia und viela quc t e n i d dos pe r ros : el uno s e l l a rnaba Huesu y el o t r o , L'ellejo. En su dor rn i to r io l a v i e j a vyaf tenia iind grdii c.a]a l le i ia d e d i n e r o q u e e s t a b a s i e m p r e terradd con Ildve. ilii dia la v i e j i t a Las s a l i 6 d e su casa c o n ,us perros y coii io s i cmpi -e n o del6 l a l l a v e e n c a s a . \lientras txbtLibdii f i ierd, l l eg6 un cu&ftus I ad r6n y s e t n e t i 6
. La ! ) I ICI~~ w n o r a volvid por la r ioche y ie p r e p a r j par,i a r o i t d r w q d . El l a d r b , q u c c s t a b a piperando dehd jd dc la caiiiii, no hacia riinglin ruido. PensJhd q u e unli v e x q u e w dur rn ie ra , el p o d r i i r o b a r l e l a
dicierico:--l d w t i ' ~ i e j d ; a\', ?;I cstoy 'n+ v ie l a y
lo:--Y LT cse : r id rncn to , 10s p e r r o s l a o y e r o n >'
As far as possible,
each skill should b e t e s t e d
separately from all
o ther skills.
H. Hybr id t e s t i t e m s ( r e a d i n g a n d wr i t i ng ) .
I. (:lore. P r o v i d e t h e mis s ing w o r d s (only o n e f o r each b lank) by u r i t i n g t h e m in t h e s p a c e s at t h e l e f t .
I . metro 2. tickets 3. & 4. * 5. & 6 . & 7. u t i l i s e 8. 9.
10. I I . 12. a u 13.
A P a r i s , pour p r e n d r e l e (1) ou I ' au tobus , o n a c h s t e d e s a 11 y a d e u x c a t e g o r i e s (3) t i c k e t s . L e t i c k e t d e deuxieme-) p e u t & r e u t i l i s e pour p r e n d r a 5 ) m e t r o oii l ' au tobus . L e t i c k e t ( 6 F p r e m i k r e c i a s s e n e p e u t & r e (7) q G pour p r c n d r e l e m g t r o , ( S c o u t e pous c h e r et p e r r n e t @ G y a G e u r d e m o n t e r un (10) d e p r e i n i e r e c l a s se . En a u t o b u s x l ) no rnbre d e t i c k e t s > p r e s e n t e r (12) r e c e v e u r d e p e n d d e l a distance(13) p a r c o u r i r .
2. P r o v i d e w r i t t e n a n s w e r s t o t h e q u e s t i o n s f o l l o w i n g t h e r e a d i n g s e l e c t i o n . a . R e s p o n s e s in t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e w i t h
o r w i t h o u t l e x i c a l c u e s ; b. R e s p o n s e s in Engl ish. P r e p a r e a w r i t t e n s u m m a r y o r r e s u m e of t h e r e a d i n g s e l e c t i o n . a. In t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e w i t h o r w i t h o u t
c u e s ; b. In English.
4. D e s c r i b e your f a v o r i t e c h a r a c t e r as h e / s h e i s p o r t r a y e d in t h e s t o r y . a. In t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e ; b. In English.
3.
5 .
6.
Ro le -p lay ing . S t u d e n t s w r i t e a d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n t w o or m o r e c h a r a c t e r s on t h e bas i s of i n f o r m a t i o n i n a r e a d i n g s e l e c t i o n .
Q u e s t i o n p r e p a r a t i o n . S t u d e n t s r e a d a s e l e c t i o n a n d p r e p a r e w r i t t e n q u e s t i o n s o n t h e c o n t e n t .
C. Hybr id t e s t i t e m s ( r e a d i n g a n d I i s t en ing i speak- ing).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
6.
C l o z e . T h e t e a c h e r r e a d s p o r t i o n s f ro rn a s e l e c t i o n p rev ious ly a s s igned f o r r e a d i n g a n d p a es f o r s t u d e n t s to p r o v i d e mis s ing words." Th i s a n d o t h e r t e c h n i q u e s sug- g e s t e d h e r e l e n d t h e r n s e l v e s wel l to in- f o r m a l c l a s s r o o m t e s t i n g ; w i t h a p p r o p r i a t e a u d i o c u e s , s t u d e n t r e s p o n s e s c a n be r e - c o r d e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y in a f o r m a l t e s t i n g s i t u a t i o n .
O r a l a n s w e r s t o ques t ions . S t u d e n t s r e - s p o n d o r a l l y t o q u e s t i o n s t h e y h e a r on t h e c o n t e n t of a r e a d i n g s e l e c t i o n . To fac i l i - t a t e f l u e n t r e s p o n s e s in t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e t h e t e a c h e r m a y wish t o p r o v i d e l e x i c a l c u e s o n t h e c h a l k b o a r d on a s c r e e n w i t h a n o v e r h e a d p r o j e c t o r .
O r a l S u m m a r y . S t u d e n t s p r o v i d e a n o r a l s u m m a r y o f dn a s s i g n e d r e a d i n g in t h e t a r - g e t or t h c n a t i v e l a n g u a g e . T h e t e a c h e r m a y a g a i n wish t o p r o v i d e c u e s a s s u g g e s t e d above .
C h a r a c t e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . S t u d e n t s i d e n t i f y o n e o f t h e i r f a v o r i t e c h a r a c t e r s in a s t o r y . d e s c r i b e t h e p e r s o n a n d t e l l w h y h e i s h e a p p e a l s t o t h e m .
Ro le -p lay ing . S imi l a r t o t h e w r i t t e n e x e r - cise d e s c r i b e d a b o v e , l e a r n e r s now o r a l l y p l ay t h e r o l e of a g i v e n c h a r a c t e r i n a g iven s i t u a t i o n of a r e a d i n g a s s i g n m e n t . T h e t e a c h e r m a y w a n t t o a l l o w s t u d e n t s a f e w m i n u t e s t i m e f o r p r e p a r i n g c u e c a r d s t o e n a b l e t h i s e x e r c i s e t o p r o g r e s s s m o o t h l y . I t is a l s o h e l p f u l t o i n d i c a t e t o p a r t i c i p a n t s a p p r o x i m a t e l y how m a n y e x c h a n g e s t h e r e s h o u l d be.
O r a l q u e s t i o n p r e p a r a t i o n . S t u d e n t s p o s e o r a l q u e s t i o n s on t h e c o n t e n t of r e a d i n g i n a t e r i a l t o b e a n s w e r e d by f e l l o w - l e a r n e r s o r e v e n by t h e t e a c h e r .
2Y
Pre- and Post-Test Act ivi t ies
One of t h e key components of success i n any
evaluat ion program is proper preparat ion of s tu -
dents for tes t ingsessions. Perhaps t h e most impor-
t a n t s teps a r e to del ineate careful ly what mater ia l
will be tes ted and t o ind ica te how long t h e t e s t will
26. The wri ter f requent ly uses this procedure. Students gen- erally respond with enthusiasm and a keen sense of competition. To avoid confusion, only one s tudent can b e allowed to answer at a time. Responses can also be recorded in writing.
27. For a rat ionale and description of this technique, consult Harvey L. Kendall, "Lexical Cues on the Blackboard: A Stiniulus to Oral P a r t i c i p a t r o n , " w n t e r r i c h t s p r a x i s , 2, i i (19691, 21-24.
be--both in t e r m s of t i m e and t h e number of items.
In addition, s tudents should be well acquainted
with t h e i tem f o r m a t t o be employed. I t is not
adviseable to include ac t iv i t ies on a test which
were not pract iced regularly in class. If on a r a r e
occasion a teacher finds i t necessary to use a new
i tem f o r m a t on a t e s t , examples should be provided
for prac t ice in class prior t o t h e t e s t session.
Some teachers fee l t h a t i t is worthwhile to conduct s t ruc tured review sessions prior to giving
a major tes t . For maximum effect iveness , a re-
view shee t can be prepared which descr ibes t h e
scope of t h e mater ia l t o be tes ted , provides exam-
ples of each s e t of t e s t i t e m s together with direc-
tions, and indicates t h e re la t ive point value of
each sect ion of t h e tes t . 2 8
Test results should be repor ted t o s tudents as
If t e s t i t ems were constructed soon as possible.
28. See, for example, Mark E. Cory, "A Neglected Aspect of Structuring the Review Session," Foreign Language Testing:
Foreign Language Annals, 7 (19741, 417-20.
CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY announces
a Career oriented professional
B.S. program in TECHNICAL WRITING
and TECHNICAL TRANSLATION
focusing on practical communication and linguistic
skills
Course work in expository writing and basic sciences. Translation workshops under professional translators. Internships with industrial and business firms.
Write: Director Translation Center Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213
with ease and reliability of scoring in mind, a good
deal of t i m e c a n be saved in t h e correct ion pro-
cess. If at all possible, s tudents should have the
opportuni ty t o examine their t e s t papers. Seeing
where e r rors were cornrnitted assures t h e learner
t h a t t h e tes t ing procedure is not only a data-
gather ing session for t h e purpose of giving grades,
but a real learning experience.
N o m a t t e r what a teacher may say about the
emphasis or object ives in a given course, students
a r e general ly quick to recognize t h e testing prac-
t i ces of a teacher a s an a c c u r a t e barometer of
what is considered important . There is l i t t l e doubt
t h a t good t e s t s can play a major role in motivating
s tudents to do their best work; thus, t ime spent in
developing sound methods of evaluating and
tes t ing s tudent progress and teaching effective-
ness is a good inves tment in t h e success of a
foreign language program.
Handbooks e n t i t l e d O v e r s e a s O p p o r t u n i t i e s for Faculty a n d O v e r s e a s O p p o r t u n i t i e s fo r S t u d e n t s a r e available f rorn t h e O f f i c e of I n t e r n a t i o n a l Educat ior i at t h e Univer- s i t y of Iowa. Bo th l i s t t h e n a m e a n d a d d r e s s of sponsoring o r g a n i z a t i o n s , e l ig ib i l i t y r e q u i r e m e n t s , dead l ines , avail- a b l e f i e lds , s t i p e n d s , etc. For f u r t h e r i n fo rma t ion , con- tact K a t h a r i n a Phi l l ips , S tudy Abroad Advisor , OIES, Uni- v e r s i t y of Iowa, Iowa C i t y , IA 52242 .
Learn ing w i t h Fore ign S t u d e n t s will b e especial ly use- f u l t o f a c u l t y w h o wish t o d r a w on t h e fo re ign student r e s o u r c e s o n t h e i r c a m p u s e s , t o f o r e i g n s t u d e n t s and their adv i so r s as t h e y s e e k to e x p a n d t h e e d u c a t i o n a l ro l e of the f o r e i g n s t u d e n t o f f i c e o n c a m p u s , fo re ign s t u d e n t s a s they s e e k t o r e a l i z e t h e i r r o l e as ' cu l tu ra l c a r r i e r s , ' a n d Arneri- c a n s t u d e n t s deve lop ing a n i n d e p e n d e n t s tudy program. T h e book m a y b e o r d e r e d f r o m J.A. Mes tenhause r , Off ice of Advisor to I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t u d e n t s , 717 t. River Rd., Minneapol is , MN 55455 for $4.25 each .
I ' l r ~ s e meiition 1,ovezgri Language Aiiriali when writing to advertisers
