ASSESSING

READING
Khulan. O
Naran-Erdene.A
Bujinlkham.
Reading is the only way
to learn about any
literature and
language, and there is
no real shortcut
by David Pichaske
 Overview: Assessing reading

Trend of reading: Sense of sight and hearing : 1. digital book, audio book. With the
technological boom of recent years, we have seen a burgeoning of visual and auditory
media, filling our eyes and ears almost constantly. Nevertheless, the written word
continues to play a vital role in conveying information, amusing and entertaining us.
Assessment reading: Many formal tests use the written word as a stimulus for test-
takers response; even oral interviews may require reading performance for certain tasks.
The assessment of reading ability does not end with the measurement of comprehension
How to assess reading /whether they use reading strategies. It is important especially
formative classroom assessment, to assess the strategies that readers use or fail to use -to
achieve ultimate comprehension of a text. For example: Academic technical report may
be comprehensible to a student at the sentence level, but if the learner has not utilized
certain strategies for noting the discourse conventions of that genre, misunderstanding
may occur.
To sum up: Reading, arguably the most essential skill for success in all educational
contexts, remains a skill of paramount importance as we create assessments of general
language ability.
 How to be an efficient reader ?
For Learners of English, two primary hurdles must be cleared to become
efficient reader. Learners can be encouraged to use both bottom-up and
top-down strategies to help them understand a text.
First Second
Bottom-up processing is a type of As part of the top-down approach,
information processing based on second language readers must
incoming data from the develop appropriate content and
environment to form a perception. formal schemata (background
The need to be able to master information and cultural
fundamental bottom-up strategies experience-to carry out those
for processing separate letters, interpretations effectively.)
words, and phrases as well as top-
down, conceptually driven ( -,
strategies for comprehension.
( )

,
)
Bottom-up: processing
(affixation ) separate

Top down: processing of language,
Letters
Words Schemata Someone uses
Phrases background info, cultural experience to
predict meaning of language.
 Micro and Macro skills

Micro skills:
Discriminate among the distinctive a. graphemes (b. letters or letters
combinations that produce c. a phoneme) and orthographic patterns of English.
E.g., piece, peace, piece and micro macro.
 Micro skills
2) Retain chunks of language of different lengths in short-term memory.

3) Process writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose.

4) Recognize a core of words and interpret word order patterns and their
significance. (priority ...)

5) Recognize grammatical word classes ( nouns, verbs etc.) system ( e.g., tense,
agreement, pluralization)

6) Recognize that a particular meaning may be expressed in different

grammatical forms. ( passive)

7) Recognize cohesive devices in written discourse and their role in signaling

the relationship between and among clauses.
 Macro skills

Recognize the rhetorical conventions of written discourse and their

significance for interpretation.
Recognize the communicative functions of written texts, according to
form and purpose.
Infer context that is not explicit by activating schemata (using
background knowledge)
From described events, ideas, etc., infer links and connections between
events, deduce causes and effects, and detect such relations as main idea
supporting idea, new information, generalization, and exemplification.
Distinguish literal and implied meanings.
Detect culturally specific references and interpret them in a context of
the appropriate cultural schemata.
Develop and use battery of reading strategies, such as scanning and
skimming, detecting discourse markers, guessing the meaning of words
from context, and activating schemata for the interpretation of texts.
 Principal strategies for reading comprehension

1. Identify your purpose in reading text.

2. Apply spelling rules and conventions for bottom-up decoding.
3. Use lexical analysis ( prefixes, roots, suffixes etc.)determine meaning
4. Guess at meaning (of words, idioms etc.)when you arent certain.
5. Skim the text for the gist and for main ideas.
6. Scan the text for specific information (names, dates, key words etc.)
7. Use silent reading techniques for rapid processing.
8. Use marginal notes, outlines, charts, or semantic maps for
understanding.
9. Distinguish between Literal and implied meaning.
10. Use discourse markers (e.g., in addition, however, nevertheless
on the other hand)
Types of reading

Interacti Extensiv
Perceptive Selective
ve e
 Perceptive
reading tasks
involve
attending to the
components of
larger stretches
of discourse.
Letters, words,
punctuation,
other graphemic
symbols
Bottom-up
processing is
implied .
 To ascertain ones
reading recognition of
lexical, grammatical, or
discourse features of
language within a very
short stretch of
language,
Certain typical tasks
Selective reading
are used: picture-cued
tasks, matching,
true/false, multiple-
choice
Sentences, Brief
paragraphs, simple
charts, graphs
A combination of
bottom-up and top-
down processing may
be used
 Anecdotes, short narratives,
descriptions, excerpts from
longer texts, questionnaires,
memos, announcements,
directions, recipes,
A process of negotiating Interactive reading
meaning.
To identify relevant
features(lexical, symbolic,
grammatical, and discourse) and
to retain the information that is
processed.
Top-down processing is typical
of such tasks, although some
instances of bottom-up
performance may be necessary.
 EXTENSIVE READING
Professional article, essays, technical reports, short
stories and books
The purposes of assessment usually are to tap into a
learners global understanding of a text, as opposed to
asking test-takers to zoom in on small details.
Top-down processing is assumed for most extensive
tasks.
 Relationships of length, focus, and processing
mode
Moderate Length Focus Process
emphasis

Strong sh medi lon for meani Bottom Top-

ort um g m ng -up down
emphasis

Percept
ive
Selecti
ve

Interac
tive
Extensi
ve
Designing asessment tasks:Perceptive reading
o At the beginning level of reading a second language lies a set of tasks that are
fundamental and basic.
o Recognition of alphabetic symbols, capitalized and lowercase letters, punctuation, words,
and grapheme-phoneme correspondences.
o Some learners are already literate in their own native language, but in other cases the
second language may be the first language that they have ever learned to read./cognitive
and age realted issues/
Multiple choice
Reading aloud[S, R] Same/different,Circle the answer,True/false
The test taker sees separate letters, words Choose the letter,Matching
and/or short sentences and reads them
aloud, one by one, in the presence of Test takers read: Circle S for same or D for
different
administrator.
1. Seat Set S D
Written Response[R, W]
The same stimuli are presented, and the
test-takers task is to reproduce the Test takers read: Circle the odd item, the
probe in writing. one that doesnt belong
1. book book boot
 Designing assessment tasks: Selective
reading

Multiple Matching
-Choice Tasks

Picture-
Editing
Cued
Tasks
Tasks
Gap-
Filling
Tasks
 Selective reading-1

Multiple-Choice(for Form Focused Criteria)

Multiple-choice cloze
vocabulary/gram
Multiple-choice
Contextualized mar task[R]
vocabulary/gram
multiple-choice He showed his suitcase
mar tasks[R]
vocabulary/gram (1)______me, but it
1. He is not married. He
mar tasks[R] wasnt
is________________
1. Manager: Do you big(2)________to fit
A. Young
like to work by all his clothes. So i
B. Single
yourself? gave him my
C. First
Employee: Yes, I like suitcase, which
D. A husband
to was(3)______.
work_______________ 1. A. For
2. The bank robbery
A. Independently B. From
occurred____________
B. Definitely C. To
__i was in the
C. Impatiently 2. A. So
restroom.
D. rapidly B. Too
E. That
C. Enough
F. During
3. A. Larger
G. While
B. Smaller
H. which
C. largest
 Selective reading-2

Matching tasks
Selected response
Vocabulary matching fill-in vocabulary
task.[R] task.[R]
Write in the letter of 1. At the end of the
the definition on the long race, the
right that matches runners were
the word on the left. totally____________.
__1. exhausted 2. ____
__2. disappointed 3. ____
__3. enthusiastic 4. _____
__4. empathetic Choose from among
the following:
a. Unhappy Disappointed
b. Understanding of Empathetic
others Exhausted
c. Tired Enthusiastic
d. excited
 Selective reading-3

Editing tasks
Multiple-choice grammar editing
task [R]

Choose the letter of the underlined

word that is not correct.

1. The abrasively action of the wind

wears away softer layers of rock.
A B
C D
2. There are two way of making a gas
condense: cooling it or putting it
 Selective reading-4

Picture-Cued Tasks
Multiple-choice Diagram-labeling task[R]

picture-cued
response[R]
 Selective reading-5
Gap-Filling
Tasks
Sentence
completion tasks[R,
W]
Oscar: Doctor, What should i do if i get
sick?

Doctor: It is best to stay home

and_______
If you have a
fever,_______________
You should drink as much
_______________________________________
____
The worst thing you can do is
_______________________________________
____
You should
also____________________
Designing assessment tasks: Interactive
reading

Imprompt
u Reading Short- Editing(lo
Cloze Plus Answer nger
tasks Comprehe Tasks texts)
nsion
Questions

Informatio
n
Transfer:
Reading
Scanning Ordering
Charts,
Tasks
Maps,
Graphs,
Diagrams
 Interactive reading-1

Cloze tasks
C-test procedure Cloze-elide procedure[R]

[R, W] The recognition that ones now feelings of

happiness and unhappiness can under
coexist much like love and hate in a
cloze then relationship may offer

The recognition valuable clues on how to lead a happier

with life.

th__ ones feel____

of happ_____ and
unhap______ can
coe____ much li__
love a__ hate i_ a
cl___ relati______
may of___
valuable cl___ on
 Interactive reading-2

Impromptu reading plus comprehension

questions[R]
Main idea(topic)
expressions/idiom/phrases
in context
Inference
Grammatical features
Detail(scanning for a
specifically stated detail)
Excluding facts not
written(unstated details)
Supporting ideas
Vocabulary in context

COMPUTER-based TOEFL[R]
Interactive
Short-Answer
reading-3 Tasks
The age-old short-answer
format
A reading passage is presented, and the test-taker
reads questions that must be answered, usually in
written form, in a sentence or two.

Open-ended reading comprehension questions[R, W]

1. What do you think the main idea of this passage?
2. What two ideas did the writer suggest for increasing airline business?
3. Why do you think the airlines have recently experienced a decline?

The future of
 Interactive reading-4

Editing Longer texts)

Conte
xtuali
zed
gram
 Interactive reading-5

Scanning [R]-Strategy used by all

readers to find relevant information in a text
A date, name, or place in an article
A one-to two-

The setting for a narrative or story
The principal divisions of a chapter
page news article The principal research finding in a
technical report
An essay A result reported in a specified cell in a
table
The cost of an item on a menu
A chapter in a
Specified data needed to fill out an
application
textbook
A technical report
A table or chart
depicting some
research findings
A menu
An application
form
 Interactive reading-6

Ordering Tasks
Sentence-ordering task[R]

Put the following sentences in the

correct order:

A. It was called The Last Waltz

B. The street was in total darkness
C. Because it was one he and richard
had learned at school
D. Peter looked outside
 Interactive reading-7

Information transfer: Reading charts,

maps, graphs, diagrams
Tasks for assessing interpretation of
graphic information.[R, S, W]
Read a graphic; answer simple, direct
To comprehend information questions
Read a graphic; describe or elaborate
information in this on information.
Read a graphic; infer/predict
medium, learners
information
Read a passage; choose the correct
must be able to graphic for it
Read a passage with an accompanying

Comprehend graphic; interpret both

Read a passage; create or use a

specific graphic to illustrate.

conventions of
the various types
of graphics.
Comprehend
labels, headings,
numbers, and
Want big impact?
Use big image.
Designing assessment tasks:
Extensive Reading

o Impromptu reading
plus Skimming tasks
o comprehension
questions
o Short-answer tasks Summarizing and
o Editing Responding
o Scanning
o Ordering
o Information Notetaking and Outlining
transfer
o
Interpretation(discu
ssed under
graphics)
 Extensive reading-1

What is the main idea of this text?

What is the authors purpose in writing the
text?
What kind of writing is this?
What type of writing is this?
How easy or difficult do you think this text
will be?
What do you think you will learn from the
text?
How useful will the text be for your
profession, academic needs, interests?

Skimming Tasks S/W]

[R,

Responses are
oral or written,
 Extensive reading-2
Directions for
summarizing[R,W]
Write a summary of the text. Your
summary should be about one paragraph in
length(100-150 words) and should include
your understanding of the main idea and
supporting ideas
Summarizing and
Responding
Directions for responding to reading
In the article Poisoning the air we breathe, the
author suggests that a global dependence on
fossil fuels will eventually make air in large
cities toxic. Write an essay in which you agree or
disagree with the authors thesis. Support your
opinion with information from the article and
from your own experience.
You can copy&paste graphs from Google Sheets
Criteria for assessing a summary
1. Expresses accurately the main idea and
supporting ideas
2. Is written in the students own words; occasional
vocabulary from the original text is acceptable.
3. Is logically organized
4. Displays facility in the use of language to clearly
express ideas in the text
Holistic scoring scale for summarizing and responding to
reading
3-Demonstrates clear, unambiguous comprehension of the
main and supporting ideas.
2-Demonstrates comprehension of the main idea but lacks
comprehension of some supporting ideas.
1-Demonstrates only a partial comprehension of the main
and supporting ideas.
0-Demonstrates no comprehension of the main and
supporting ideas.
 Extensive reading-3

Notetaking
and
Outlining[R,
W]
 Thanks!
Do you have Any
questions?