To determine if cloze items are sensitive to constraints across sentences, sequential and scrambled-type tests were given to native English speakers and Japanese adults studying ESL. Results showed cloze items embedded in prose are sensitive to discourse constraints ranging beyond the immediate limits of a sentence. (CHK)

Investigates the degree to which potential users of language reading proficiency scales acquire the standard for accurately grading reading passages of foreign-language learners. A five-day workshop helped users of the guidelines rank reading passages for levels of difficulty and rate them accurate according to the ACTFL scales. (Author/CB)

Describes a study which investigated the intersentential sensitivity of the rational deletion cloze procedure. Eighty-four college-level students of German were divided into two sub-groups; one group completed a sequential cloze task, the other completed a scrambled cloze task. There were not significant differences in performance on the two…

Significant test concepts are discussed and guidelines are given for planning and constructing test items. Examples are given for evaluating reading comprehension and suggestions are made for pre- and post-test activities. (Author/RM)

Supplement 7. (RS)

Describes a testing program designed to assess the French language proficiency of professionals desiring to practice in the Quebec region. Discusses the criteria used for the construction, administration, and scoring of the tests in compliance with the 1977 French language legislation. (MES)

Describes relationship between curriculum and learner evaluation in Jordan of English language teaching. Claims Oxford Secondary English Course for Jordan tests are defective, speaking is ignored in tests, reading comprehension is neglected and tests are exclusively discrete-point tests. Suggests use of cloze tests and translation. (BK)

This article reports on a series of experiments designed to determine the validity of the Cloze test as a measure of the English language proficiency of nonnative speakers. (CFM)

Preliminary criteria are presented to consider in the writing of English for academic purposes (EAP) reading comprehension tests. The criteria pertain to the test as a whole as well as to the form of individual questions. A checklist is appended. (42 references) (Author/LB)

Discusses the "sore-finger" form of multiple choice test items. "Sore finger" items employ authentic texts making use of the rules of text grammar, achieve high discrimination levels, and show a high validity for several subtests, especially style tests. The use of sore finger items in German nationwide English and German tests…

The usefulness of bilingual dictionaries for vocabulary learning was examined with 293 Japanese university students studying English as a foreign language. Students who used a dictionary during reading scored significantly better on a vocabulary test than those who did not, but there was evidence for differential item functioning. (25 references)…

This review of research on testing of second-language reading addresses: general areas of interest in reading research, assessment; adaptation of a suitable first-language reading comprehension model for second-language assessment; reliance on a top-down model of reading comprehension; validity of multiple-choice reading comprehension tests;…

Task-based learning is a popular topic in ELT/EFL circles nowadays. It is accepted by its proponents as a flourishing method that may replace Communicative Language Learning. However, it can also be seen as an adventure just because there are almost no experimental studies to tackle questions concerning applicability of Task-based Learning. In…

Methods to contextualize tests in the four skill areas of listening, reading, writing, and speech are described. The roles of grammatical and lexical cues, recording semantic details, cloze adaptation, comprehensive questions, logical continuation items, global classification, and sociolinguistic factors are examined in relation to test formats.…

A technique for measuring the acquisition of Spanish skills is described. The technique is designed for fourth-year advanced Spanish students enrolled in business Spanish. It not only tests the students but promotes learning by requiring the use of new vocabulary items and comprehension of printed texts. Students are given a text with 25 to 30…