Assessing Reading

Summary

Chapter 3
By Licda. Belinda Davis

Of course, it is difficult to assess an invisible skill. We cannot see what is going on students' minds when they read or listen, so we design assessment based on constructs or models of receptive skills that include a variety of subskills.

Some examples of reliable reading assessments are: 

1. Cover a range of reading skills.

2. Choose different text topics and types.

3. Help students distinguish between main ideas and supporting details.

4. Help students get the meaning of unfamiliar words.

5. Students should recognize the purposes and audiences of texts.

            

6. Remember grammar is an important part of reading comprehension.

Since we can only get an idea of how students process texts through techniques such as think- aloud. For classroom assessment we can focus on important skills that are divides in major and minor reading skills.

MAJOR READING SKILLS INCLUDE:

- reading quickly to skim for gist and scan for specific details.

- reading carefully for main ideas.

- drawing inferences from both stated and implied content.

MINOR READING SKILLS INCLUDE:
- understanding at the sentence level(vocabulary, syntax)

- identifying what pronouns refer to, recognizing discourse markers.

- understanding nonlinear texts(meaning of graph or charts).

Specifications
They are used to establish a clear link between the overall objectives and the design of a particular assessment instruments. Some typical features of specifications are:

1. Content: refers to the material that will be cover.
2. Conditions: the structure and the component parts. Timing should also be include and the circumstances of the questions and answers.
3. Grading Criteria: how the assessment instrument will be marked.

There are many sources of reading texts. Keep a file of authentic material form newspapers, magazines, brochures, instruction guides and any suitable source of real texts.

Avoid texts with controversial material: religion, abortion, or international disputes. Remember that texts should be culturally neutral as possible to avoid offense.
Reading comprehension questions should be in the same order as the material in the passage.                                                                                   

We need in terms of reading assessment to think about the skills, techniques and formats that our students will need for standardized tests. Analize publicly available material and then try writing practice tests.
Give your students the opportunity to think beyond what they see in print. Reading is an important skill to master in English.