ERIC Number: EJ1210868
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2158-2440
EISSN: N/A
Method Bias in Cloze Tests as Reading Comprehension Measures
Baghaei, Purya; Ravand, Hamdollah
SAGE Open, v9 n1 Jan 2019
In many reading comprehension tests, different test formats are employed. Two commonly used test formats to measure reading comprehension are sustained passages followed by some questions and cloze items. Individual differences in handling test format peculiarities could constitute a source of score variance. In this study, a bifactor Rasch model is applied to separate the cloze-specific variance in a reading comprehension test composed of sustained passages (plus questions) and a cloze passage. The results are compared with a unidimensional Rasch model where all items load on a single dimension. The inclusion of the cloze-specific dimension, that is, the method factor, improved the fit and resulted in substantially lower item difficulty estimates for the cloze items. Findings indicate that reading comprehension tests comprising sustained passages and cloze items are not unidimensional and contain a cloze-specific nuisance dimension that contaminates the latent construct variance.
Descriptors: Cloze Procedure, Test Bias, Individual Differences, Difficulty Level, Item Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Reading Tests, Test Format, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Goodness of Fit, Test Items, College Entrance Examinations, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Foreign Countries, Language Tests, Language Proficiency, High Stakes Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iran
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A