Reading Comprehension Assessment

1. Reading
Comprehension
Assessments
University of the Punjab , Department of
Language & Literature. Lahore, Pakistan

2. Reading is a Purposeful
Activity
A person may read in order
to:
 gain information
 verify existing knowledge
 enhance knowledge
have access to the literature
for enjoyment

3. Reading Speed
• Normal :
200 to 220 words per
minute
Average:
250 and 350 WPM
• A Good:
500 to 700 WPM
• Exceptional Speed:
1000 WPM or more

4. Reading
ComprehensionInteractive Process: between the reader and
the text
The Text Presents:
Letters ,Words
Sentences
Paragraphs that encode
meaning
The Reader Uses:
Knowledge
Skills
Strategies to determine what that
meaning is resulted in
Comprehension (understanding of text)

5. Types of
Comprehension
 Literal
Comprehensio
n
 Reorganizati
on
 Prediction
 Inference
 Evaluation
 Personal

6. Types of
ComprehensionLiteral Comprehension:
An understanding of the straightforward
meaning of the text:
Facts
Vocabulary
Dates, Times
Locations

7. Types of
Comprehension
Reorganization:
 A literal understanding of
the text
Student use information
from various parts of the
text for additional
understanding

8. Types of
ComprehensionPrediction:
• To determine what might
happen next or after a story
ends
• Students use their
Understanding of the
passage
Knowledge of the topic and
Related matters
In a systematic fashion
Varieties of Prediction:
 While-reading
Post- reading

9. Types of
ComprehensionInference:
It involves students
combining
their literal
understanding of the text
with
 their own knowledge
and intuitions

10. Types of
ComprehensionEvaluation:
It requires the learner to
give a global or
comprehensive judgment
about some aspect of the
text

11. Personal Response:
It requires readers to
respond with their
feelings for the text
and the subject
The answers are not
found in the text; they
come strictly from the
readers
Types of
Comprehension

12. Objectives of Reading
Tests
• Reading comprehension test can
help you to:
– improve vocabulary
– grammar
– logical thought ability

13. Some tips for Improving
Reading Skills• Practice reading every day
• You should read different fields to improve
your vocabulary
• Take note all new words and learn them
• Try to answer all the questions
• After answer all the questions
• Check the key and read the passage again to
find out the mistake you have faced and deeply
understand the passage you have read

14. Reading Techniques
• Scanning: You try to find a particular piece of information.
You read from top to down of the text quickly to find the
specific information you need to answer questions.
• Skimming: You try to gather the most important information as
quickly as possible. You read from top to down of the text
quickly and note important information.
• Intensive reading: You try to find the details of a specific
information. Example question: What does "intensive" in line 5
mean?
• Extensive reading: You try to find general information of a
passage. Example question: What is the best title for this
passage?

15. Types of Reading
Comprehension Test
• Multiple Choice
Questions
• Short Answer
Questions
• True/False
Questions

16. Multiple Choice Questions
A student chooses one answer from
a number of choices
Parts of a MCQ :
A stem the text of the question
An options the choices provided
after the stem
The key the correct answer in the
list of options
Distracters the incorrect answers in
the list of options

17. Example of a Multiple Choice
Question
Q1. Where did Norma put the lamb chops?
stem
a) In the oven
b) In the broiler Distracters
c) In the freezer key
d) In the basket

18. Assessments
Students’ knowledge :
to assess the depth and breadth
Components of Blooms taxonomy:
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis and
Evaluation can be tested
through MCQs
It require less time:
to administer for a given
amount of material

19. Assessments
A comprehensive Evaluation
of the candidate's extent of
knowledge
Better Measurement Tool :
MCQs responses are easily
scored with accuracy and
objectivity
The strongest predictors : of
overall student performance

20. Creativity : cannot be tested
Rote Learning: some students
engage in rote learning
Limited Types of Knowledge:
is assessed by MCQ tests
Low-order Skills: MCQs are
best for testing well-defined or
lower-order
skills

21. Disadvantages
No Credit for knowing :
If student selects the wrong answer
A Chance of Receiving A Mark:
To select a random answer
Changing Answers
“right to wrong" changes is 20.2%
"wrong to right" changes is
57.8%, nearly triple

22. Conclusion
• MCQs have been criticized as a
"ridiculous kind of
mechanization" that transforms
knowledge in crossword puzzles
• MCQs area legitimate method of
competence testing

23. Short Answer Questions
• An Effective Measure of
a student's ability to
accurately recall specific,
target information
• The answer shows that
the student understands
what the question is
asking

24. Advantages
Requires Cognitive Ability to
generate answers
Promotes more in-depth
study
as students must recall answers
Effective for assessing
Information
who, what, where, and when

25. Provide diagnostic information
when looking at types of errors
Quicker for students
to complete than MCQs
Effective
as either a written or oral
assessment

26. Disadvantages
Generally Limited
To knowledge
To comprehension questions
Rote Learning:
Encouraging rote memorization
May overestimate learning
 due to bluffing

27. Accuracy of Assessment
may be influenced by
Handwriting
Spelling skills
Difficult to Write
items so that desired knowledge
is clear

28. Conclusion
One means of measuring this
type of higher-order
understanding
short answer items can also
be utilized to assess
 knowledge
 Comprehension
understanding
 Application
 Synthesis
 Analysis, and
Evaluation levels

29. True/False (binary-choice)
Questions
• A true-false questions is
a form of the multiple-
choice format
• There are only two
possible alternatives

30. Advantages
Efficient Method of
Testing
a wide range of material
in a short period of time
Well Suited for Measuring
knowledge,
comprehensive, and
Application levels of
understanding

31. Advantages
To measure a student’s
ability:
To identify whether
statements of fact are
accurate or not
To recognize the accuracy of
a declarative statement

32. Disadvantages
May overestimate learning
due to the influence of
guessing
Difficult to differentiate
between effective difficult
items and trick items
Often leads to testing of
trivial facts or bits of
information

33. Disadvantages
Generally less Discriminating
than multiple-choice items
Often criticized for
encouraging
rote memorization

34. Conclusion
They can also be combined
within a multiple-choice to
create the more complex
assertion-reason item
However, true-false questions
do have a number of
limitations