CHAPTER 5

Assessing Learners'
Understanding of Literature
Essential Question:
 
How do I assess pupils' learning in my
literature class?
Introduction:
One significant role of the language teacher is literacy assessment
through literature. Assessing it entails the need for teachers to gather
information to make relevant decisions as regards the quality of reading
instruction as well as the acquisition of the language learners of the desired
reading and text comprehension skills. Recognizing that reading and text
comprehension assessment is critical to make wise decisions. The language
teacher should be aware of the essentials and guidelines in the development
of varied literature-based tests. A variety of literature-based tests is used
because a particular reading and text comprehension skill requires a certain
test type to measure it. Thus, language and literature teachers need to master
how to develop these assessment tools.
In this chapter, you are expected to:
 
explain the importance of assessment as an integral
component of reading instruction;
adapt appropriate tests to measure reading and text
comprehension skills and sub skills; and
construct test items to assess reading and text comprehension
skills and sub-skills.
LESSON 15

Qualities of a Good
Reading and Text
Comprehension Test
Discussion:

To undertake an effective assessment of reading and text comprehension skills,

the distinguishing features of test, measurement, evaluation, and assessment must be
clearly understood.

Test
 is an instrument containing items or tasks intended to measure the achievement
(knowledge, skill, or performance) of learners as they learn reading.
Measurement
 As the teacher determines the number of items correctly answered by each
learner, information is collected as to how much (score) a learner has understood
the reading selection.
Evaluation
 When the teacher makes a decision that a particular learner's score
depicts an instructional level of performance, evaluation is done. It is
the process of interpreting the information collected useful in making
decisions about a learner's performance.

Assessment
 A systematic process of conducting written tests, actual performance,
observations, and other measures.
Purposes of reading and text comprehension tests

1. To measure the extent of the learners' achievement of the

instructional objectives.
2. To diagnose the learners' strengths and weaknesses.
3. To monitor learners' progress in learning.
4. To measure aptitude for learning.
5. To evaluate the effectiveness of teaching.
6. To classify or place learners in appropriate reading classes.
7. To determine readiness for instructional processes.
Quality of a Good Test
Test experts (Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Fulcher & Davidson, 2006)

1. Validity
 The ability of the test to measure what it intends to assess.
• To ensure a valid test, it must have content validity (test items are
based on the objectives and content of the lesson/s).
• It must possess face validity (how the test "looks" to the reading
teachers and experts).
• Another index is concurrent validity (the ability to correlate
significantly test scores of the learners to their scores in another test
which was taken within the same period).
• When the test scores provide a strong correlation with the scores of the
learners in future testing in the same reading subject, the test has
predictive validity.
2. Reliability
 The ability of the test to provide consistent or stable information. It is
usually dependent on developing items that thoroughly cover the
essential competencies and topics discussed in class. Constructing more
test items usually results in a higher level of test reliability.

3. Practicality
 The ease of constructing the test, as well as the ease of administering
and scoring it. Objective tests are easier to construct and to score than
the essay test. A printed, written reading and text comprehension test is
easier to administer than an oral test.
 LESSON 16
Developing Objective Tests
Discussion:

The dominance of objective tests is observed among reading and text

comprehension tests of teachers. Some types measure only one learning
competency at one time, while others simultaneously assess different skills in the
use of a reading passage. Commonly constructed are True or False, multiple-
choice test, fill-in-the-blank, and matching type.

To effectively use the varied objective tests, certain considerations must be

followed:
1. True or False/Yes or No
 This test measures the ability of the reader to determine the truth or falsity of
the statement presented. The basis of answering is the correct interpretation of
the facts presented in a given passage. The reader is instructed to read the
statement, determine its correctness or incorrectness, and choose the answer.
In constructing True or False items when using content-based reading
selections, the following suggestions need to be considered:

a. Sentences must be simple and declarative, using direct language.

b. Statements are absolutely true or false, no qualification needed.
c. Paraphrase the statement and do not lift direct statements from
the selection.
d. Include enough background, context, and qualification when
necessary.
e. Avoid using statements of commands or orders, as these are
neither true nor false.
f. Never use qualifiers, like always, sometimes, and never.
2. Multiple-Choice Test

A multiple-choice test item asks the learner to recognize

from a set of choices the best or correct answer to a question. The
question of introducing the item is called stem. The set of choices
that follow includes the distractors, plausible answers that draw
away the learners' attention from the correct answer if they do not
really know the answer, and the keyed answer, the correct answer.
This type of test is difficult to construct, but it is easier to
score, it is more reliable, and it reduces test anxiety among
learners.
 To be effective, the multiple-choice test item construction should
consider the following suggestions:

a. Be specific with what is asked in the stem to make the learners

anticipate the correct answer after reading it. More information should be
placed in the stem rather than in the given choices.

Example:
From the details provided by the author, what is the setting of the story?
(STEM)

A. beach Distractor
*B. farm Keyed Answer
C. mountain Distractor
b. Avoid giving grammatical clues like A (answer is expected to begin
with a consonant) or AN (expected answer begins with a vowel).

Incorrect: The animal tortoise described in the story is a good example of

an

A. reptile B. amphibian C. mammal

Correct: The animal tortoise described in the story is a good example of

an/a
c. Make the choices similar in length, tense, number, sentence
structure, part of speech, etc. to avoid giving irrelevant clues to the
correct answer.

Incorrect: What did the boy expect from everyone he met?

A. trust B. treat him with mercy C. obedience

Correct: What did the boy expect from everyone he met?

A. trust B. mercy C. obedience

d. In constructing the stem, use more often a direct question and less
of the incomplete sentence type of stem.

Less Preferred: The floating house implies that -

Preferred: What does the floating house imply?
e. Word or phrases that are repeated in the options are better
integrated into the stem to reduce the reading load of the learners.

Incorrect: What do the floating houses imply?

A. Muslims are sea lovers.
B. Muslims are pearl divers.
C. Muslims are boat-dwellers.
D. Muslims are good fishers.
Correct: What do the floating houses imply? Muslims are
A. sea lovers
B. pearl divers
C. boat-dwellers
D. good fishers
f. Arrange responses in a logical order.
 number - highest to lowest or vice versa
 date - earliest to the most recent or vice versa
 proper nouns - alphabetical order

g. Give clear directions to guide the learners on what to do with the

question and how to answer
Sample Directions:
Read the items carefully to determine from the given choices the
correct or best answer to complete the statement or answer a
question. Circle the letter of your choice.
3. Fill-in-the-Blank

This type of test asks the learners to supply in the blank the correct
answer based on the context suggested by the statement. It is also suitable
for assessing learners' knowledge of quick factual information. It has
high reliability, is easier to construct, and limits guessing.
Test situations appropriate for a fill-in-the-blank type include
giving the meaning of words, antonym or synonym, and giving the details
asked about the story.
Vocabulary Test: Ask learners what the word or phrase means as it is
used in the sentence.
Example:
The opposite of SILENT is _____
 
Supplying the Details of the Story: Ask learners about the title of the
story, the author, setting, main characters, and other major details of the
story read.
Example:
The author of the story is,__________
With the description given by the author, the setting of the story is ­
___________.
4. Matching Type

This type of test measures the learners' ability to recognize

relationships among homogenous pairs. It enables the reading teacher
to cover more content in one test. It is excellent in checking knowledge
of the learner, aside from being efficient and objective. It has two
columns: Column A presents the premises, while Column B presents
the choices.
In constructing matching type test items, the following are wise to consider:

a. Include in the directions the basis of the learners to match the items and how to
match, either to write the letter of their answer or to draw lines. If a response is
used more than once, the learners must also know.
b. Items in Column A are numbered consecutively while items in Column B are
lettered alphabetically.
c. Give more responses (about three more) in Column B than the premises
(Column A). If there are 10 items (1-10) as premises, the responses could be
letters A to M.
d. Longer statements are placed on the premises to reduce reading time, and
shorter ones are in the responses.
e. Items to be matched should be homogenous. For example, characters - reading
selection where they are found; authors - titles of reading selection; figurative
expression - word meaning or classification, etc
Sample Test Item:
 
Directions: Match the idiomatic expressions in Column A with their meanings
in Column B. Write the letter of your answer in the space provided before each
test item. Remember that items in Column B could be used more than once or
never.
 
Column A Column B
1. Second year none A. Good luck
2. Cross your finger B. In trouble
3. Busy as a bee C. Favorite
4. In hot water D. The best
5. See eye to eye E. Moving slow
F. Agree
G. Working Hard
 LESSON 17
Testing Vocabulary
Knowledge
Discussion:
Assessment of vocabulary knowledge involves varied foci and
intentions. Experts (Madsen, 1983; Read, 2000; Hughes, 2003; Nunan,
2015) mentioned that vocabulary assessment determines the amount of
words learners could understand from what is either read or heard. They do
it even if they are not able to produce them (receptive vocabulary) or
ascertain the number of words that they can understand and use (productive
vocabulary).
Vocabulary is also measured in terms of breadth (the quantity for which
the learners may have some level of knowledge) and depth (the quantity of
words learners know about the dimensions of word learning).
Others (Linse, 2005; Beck, 2007; Coyne et al., 2009; Hoffman et al.,
2014) are concerned whether or not these are discrete or embedded, and
context-dependent or context-independent.
1. Vocabulary Recognition Tests - These tests measure the receptive
vocabulary and the vocabulary breadth of the learners.

a. Picture Cues

b. Finding the Odd One Out - The learners study a group of words, one of
which is much different and does NOT belong to the group. They either
underline or encircle the odd word
Direction: Underline the odd word out

Pepper eggplant sweet potato ampalaya okra

C. Mother-Tongue Equivalents - The learners are asked to give or
write the English equivalent of words in their mother tongue.

Direction: I gave you a word in your mother tongue language. Write its
English equivalent.

Tawa Makati ayat palangga malayo

D. Knowledge of Opposites - The learners are challenged to connect lines
that show words with the opposite meaning.

Directions: Study the words in the first column and find the words
in the second column that are their opposites in terms of meaning.
Draw a line to connect the two words.
Strong Expensive
Slow Weak
Cheap Fast
E. Prefix-Word Combination - The learners are asked to combine the
appropriate prefix to be connected to a word to produce a new word.

Directions: Study the prefixes in Column A, then find the words in

Column B that could be combined with them to produce new
meaningful words.
Column A Column B
Over Polite
Mis Do
I’m Place
F. Yes/No Questions - This test requires the learners to demonstrate
appropriate knowledge of the word. Two questions answerable by Yes or No
are asked to the learners. Both questions should be correctly answered.

Examples: Do runners run on a track?

Do trains run on the same track?
2. Productive Tests - These types of tests assess the productive
vocabulary and vocabulary depth of the learners.

a. Word Associates - This test measures the ability of the learners

to produce words that are suggested by the descriptions used as
cues to the desired word.

Directions: Write the correct ending for the word in each of the
following sentences:

A person who teaches learners in school is a teach_______

A person who teaches is engaged in teach_______
 Another variation of this test is to give a stimulus word followed by
a set of words. The learners determine what words usually are
associated with the stimulus word.

Directions: Find out from the group of words those that go with or are
associated with the given word. Circle these words.
SONG

bank composer brand melody grammar

cover sales singer pencil chorus
B. Collocations - This test measures the ability of the learners to
identify words that go together.

Word Bank - Learners are asked to list words that are related to the
key or cue word.

Directions: List all the words you know that are related to the word
CAT
Collocations Related to a Verb - The learners are tasked to identify nouns
that are related to the verbs in terms of subject and objects.

Directions: At the middle column are verbs. Write words that usually go with
the verbs. Give nouns as subjects in the left column and give nouns as a
direct object in the right column.

EXAMPLE:

____FARMERS _____PLANT___ __VEGETABLE___

_____________ _____TREAT___ ________________
_____________ ______SELL____ ________________
C. Sentence Completion - This test requires the learners to complete a
sentence using ideas and vocabulary that fit the context.
Directions: Supply appropriate information or detail to complete a meaningful
sentence.
I get excited when ______________________________________
When dogs bark they ___________________________________

D. Definitions - Learners are tasked to define a term or concept. The more

details or attributes they could give about it, the richer is their vocabulary.
Directions: Give details or attributes of the term or concept to define it.
Cat is a _________________________________________
Rice is a ________________________________________
E. Cloze Test - It assesses the learner's skill in understanding meaning
through written context and determining the word that has been deleted from
a passage to complete the whole. The richer the vocabulary of the learner,
the more successful he/she is in doing the task. To construct this type of test,
teachers adhere to the following guides:
a. Select a text that is interesting to the learners.
b. Keep the first and last sentence of the selection intact. No word
deletion will be made.
c. Determine what type of format to use.
1. Fixed ratio cloze - the deleted word to be restored comes every after a
statistically predetermined number, like removing every seventh word
in the text.

2. C test - It assesses global language proficiency, which requires learners

to use context to determine the missing half of the words. It employs
the rule of two, that is, the second half of every second word starting
with the third sentence is deleted.
F. Getting the Meaning of Words through Context Clues -
Learners' ability to use the surrounding words as clues to meaning is
also a test of productive vocabulary.

Mother offered my elder brother to help in paying the hospital expenses of

my nephew, but he declined.

A. accepted B. rejected C. welcomed D. rejoiced

 LESSON 18
Testing Reading Skills
Discussion:

The assessment of reading skills at the elementary level begins with

the reading readiness up to text comprehension. Experts (Harris, 1969;
Madsen, 1983; Hughes, 2003; Harmer, 2007; Nunan, 2015) suggested the
following guidelines in constructing reading tests:

1. Reading Readiness Tests - To prepare the learners from nonreaders to

readers, they are taught essential skills and are tested to lead them to
succeed in reading.
These tests include:

a. Instant letter recognition - Test items involve the learners to recognize

letter shapes, letter names, the sequence of the letters in the alphabet, and
identification of upper and lower case manuscript letters.

Sample Test Items:

Put a check (✔) in the blank to all words that begin with letter A.
_____ball _____apple _____cat _____ant _____Angel

Arrange the names alphabetically:

Dante Bert Chona Abby Edgar Greta Freida
b. Phonological/Phonemic awareness - It measures learners' ability to
recognize words as composed of different sound components, including the
understanding of phonemes (smallest sound unit), syllables (part of a word),
and rhyme (ending sound of words similar to the end of another word). Test
items also involve the learners in segmenting words, syllables, phonemes,
blending sounds to form words, recognizing ending sounds that rhyme, and
omitting syllables and sounds, and sound substitution and manipulation.
Test situations that measure phonological awareness include the following:

1. Tell me how many different sounds are there in the following words:
Cat dog bed get ten

2. Say Yes if the two words I say have the same sound at the end, like
food and wood; Say No if they do not have the same sound, like bed and
foot. Let us begin:
sit-feet wing - then going - seeing dog – wood

3. I will say a word in a funny way. Then put the parts together and say
the whole word. For example, I say pencil; tell me the whole word pencil.
Let us start.
cra-yon black-board win-dow pho-to
C. Reading concepts - Items in this test ask learners to recognize
similarities and differences of concepts, identifying initial, medial, and
final sounds, understanding before and after concepts, recognizing voiced
and unvoiced sounds, blocked and unblocked sounds, and vowels and
consonants.

Sample Items:

What makes BET and BAT different?

What makes rhymes with PAGE?
What letter comes before/after H?
d. Word recognition - Learners in this test are asked to determine sound-
symbol correspondence and read phonetically regular words.
Sample Test Item:

Ball

Van

Flower
e. Handwriting - Items that measure this ability include asking
the learners to produce lowercase manuscript letter strokes as
well as numeral strokes.

f. Vocabulary - Items described in the previous lesson apply

here.
2. Reading Comprehension Test
 This test measures the ability of the learners to derive meaning from a
text/passage/selection read.

a. Literal questions (Reading what is directly stated in the passage) -

Questions whose answers are directly found in the selection.

b. Interpretative questions (Reading between the lines) - Items require the

learners to put together the information presented in the selection to give
a correct answer.

c. Applied/Integrative (Reading beyond the lines) - Learners are asked

questions whose answers are based on their ability to make connections
of the information read to their life experiences and knowledge.
3. Non-prose Reading Tests - This group of tests uses charts, maps,
product labels, signs and symbols, menus, and other materials that use
minimal words to explain something. They serve as stimulus materials that
serve as bases for learners to answer literal, interpretative, and applied
questions presented in the multiple-choice format
LESSON 19
Assessing Learners'
Reading Profile
Discussion:
Using a predetermined set of criteria that includes reading speed and
percentage of correct answers to comprehension questions, it identifies
the reading levels of the pupils, categorized into independent,
instructional, and frustration levels. Based on the information, teachers
can. plan, design, or redesign their reading instruction to make them
improve their reading, to move to a higher reading level.
The Phil-IRI Manual (DepEd, 2018) provides the processes in conducting the reading inventory. To
assess the reader's performance, the teacher must consider the following:

1. Brief the learner, create a friendly relationship, and conduct the test: Oral
Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, or Silent Reading
Comprehension.

Follow these steps:

a. Ask the motivation and motive questions to determine the background
knowledge of the learner on the topic to be read.
b. Have the learner read/listen to the passage.
c. After reading, let the learner answer the multiple-choice test items on the
booklet, with each item either read by himself/herself or by the teacher. Then
the answer is chosen. An "I don't know" response to a question is marked X on
the score sheet. A learner who asks to reread the selection then answers
correctly has a point recorded, but a remark "Looked back" is noted.
2. Analysis of the Results

a. Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative assessment of the reading performance of the learner
involves adding the number of observed miscues, taking note of the
number of minutes spent to read the selection, and scoring the number of
comprehension items correctly answered. The aggregate results of the
word recognition and the comprehension scores determine the reading
profile of the learner per passage.
1. Computation of the Oral Reading Score per Selection

X 100

Number of Words in the Passage: 144

Number of Miscues: 13

Oral Reading Score:

= .909 x 100 = 90.9%

2. Computation of Speed and Rate in Oral Reading

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑

𝑋 60
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑
Example: Marc Jayden has read the passage "Pedrito's Snack,"
a 144-word passage in 92 seconds.
Reading Speed:
= 1.56 x 60 = 93.9

Interpretation: Marc Jayden’s reading rate is 93.9 words per minute.

3. Computation of the Learner's Comprehension of the Passage

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝐴𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠

𝑋 100
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐼𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠

Example: Marc Jayden answered correctly 6 out of the 7

comprehension questions asked after reading "Pedrito's Snack."

Comprehension Performance:

= .867 x 100 = 85.7%

Interpretation: Marc Jayden's comprehension is 85.7%.

4. Overall Interpretation of the Word Reading and
Comprehension Level

Oral Reading Word Reading Comprehension

Level Score (%) Score (%)
Independent 97-100 80-100
Instructional 90-96 59-79
Frustration 89 and below 58 and below

Using Marc Jayden’s performance indicators, his reading profile is:

 Word Reading Score 13 miscues 90%
 Instructional Comprehension Score 6 out 7 items = 85.7%
 Indent Reading Rate: 93.9 words per minute
 The matrix below guides in assessing the reading profile per
passage of a learner.

Word Reading Reading Reading Profile

Comprehension
Independent Independent Independent
Independent Instructional Instructional
Instructional Independent Instructional
Instructional Frustration Frustration
Frustration Instructional Frustration
Frustration Frustration Frustration
b. Qualitative Analysis

 On the qualitative aspect of the reading behavior of the learner, the teacher
is guided by a checklist to observe him/her while reading orally. The items
to note during the reading are the following: mispronunciation, omission,
substitution, insertion, repetition, transposition, reversal, and self-
correction. When the miscues are noted, the teacher underlines the word,
then he/she writes on top of the word substituted or reversed form of the
word. Repeated miscues are treated individually. The total miscues are
recorded in the form provided.
BYE!!! HEHE…
