The reader: defining the construct of reading ability. Assessing Reading. (2000). J. Charles Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter four

1. Assessing Reading
Alderson (2000)
Supervised by:
Professor Abdellah Ghaicha
Presented by:
Nourddine Binij
Malika Moudden
Zaina Dali

2. Introduction
• Aspects of reading.
• Test constructs and constructs of reading
• Reading behavior and reading ability

3. The Construct
• Every test
• Mental ability to be tested
• Main components of theories
(i.e. scanning, skimming)
• Different from one another
Constructs = Skills

4. • Individual or integrative measurment
• Examples of constructs: identification, evaluation, synthesis, analysis,
distinction, comparison, contrast etc
• Constructs differ in the way they are operationalized
• Skimming for L1 and L2 readers - levels
• Relevant constructs
• Otherwise, we wind up with CIV ‘Construct irrelevant variance’
variables that affect assessment outcomes

5. Constructs of Reading
• Factors that affect reading are relevant in determining assessment
• Alderson recommends dependency on all possible linguistics features of a text to
measure reading constructs.
• Impacting variables of reading need to be considered while designing the test
• Importance of readers background knowledge is less relevant than linguistic
background (language of the target texts)
• A variable to be neutralized and controlled

6. • Academic reading
• Incorporating a ‘linguistic threshold’
• The demanding the task is, the higher that linguistic threshold goes.
• Making a task demanding has to do with variables of topic knowledge, background
knowledge, text language, and task type
• The challenge
• Contamination
• L1 features contribute to L2 features and control them
• Difficult to pinpoint what is exactly measured, reading skills or general knowledge =
Need to specify exact reading skill to be measured
• Some tests seem to be testing linguistic skills, and not reading skills

7. • There needs to be a distinction between metacognitive and metalinguistic knowledge.
• Prior decision on what metalinguistic or metacognitive knowledge the construct would
include or exclude
• Debate: Should it be decided beforehand what metalinguistic or metacognitive
knowledge the construct would include or exclude?
• Anxiety
• Appreciation and enjoyment should be taken into consideration too

8. Constructs and test specifications

9. The goals of test specifiations
• To make the theoretical framework underlying the test explicit.
Spill out the test constructs

10. Test constructs
1 Sections of the test :
• Reading comprehension.
• Language (vocabulary/ grammar/ functions).
• Writing.
2 Reference:
• Text book: Ticket 2 English. Units 4 and 5 (Sustainable Development , Women and Power).

11. 3 Time and weighting specification
Sections Completion time Weighting
Reading
comprehension 45 min 15/40
Language
30 min 15/40
Writing
45min 10/40

12. To describe test tasks , task characteristics

13. • Test task
• students are required to identify keywords related to the theme of the research that
is used as a reference for the test.
• Task Length
• The task is relatively short in length. This is also indicated by the space specified
for writing the answers.
• Tested skills
• The task aims at testing students’ ability to detect the related and unrelated
keywords to the research

14. Exampes of test specifications
• DIALANG
• FCE ( the First certificate in English)
• The International English Language Testing System

15. DIALANG
•It aims at assessing
Structures&vocabulary
Self-assessment
The four skills

16. • Comprehending + restructuring
• Comprehending + reasoning , discovering , interpreting
The cognitive processes involved in DIALANG

17. Reading for information
Reading to reflect
Reading to cultivate the mind
The objectives of reading section in DIALANG

18. • In DIALANG , item writers are required
• For selecting texts
• To differentiate between opinions and facts in texts

19. • The difficulty of reading tasks vary according to :
 The text type ( level of abstraction , theme …. )
Writer’s style (vocabulary , structure….)

20. • The readers vary by :
• The background
• Language skills
• Strategies

21. •DIALANG test is devided into
Over all section Analytic section
• Main ideas
•specific details
Going beyond the literal meaning

22. The First Certificate in English
• It is produced by the university of Cambridge Local examinations
Syndicate
• It is the most taken test in UK

23. In the past :
Paper 1 : entitled reading comperhension
• Section A:
25 discrete sentences
Multiple –choice questions ( four opions)
Test constructs

24. Section 2
• Four texts
• 54 multiple –choice comprehension questions related to the texts

25. • Since 1996 , the reading section no longer contained discrete grammar items

26. • Section 1
Text preceded by 6/7 MMQ
• Section 2
A text followed by 6-7 four option MQ
• Section 3
A text where seven paragraphs are removed
• Section 4
• 15 multiple matching questions based on one text

27. • To distinguish between main & subordinate ideas
• To differentiate between the gist of the text and specific
details
The objectives of FCE

28. • Candidates should be able to read semi-authantic texts of
various forms
• They should be able to understand the gist , details & text
structures
Description of reading test

29. • Texts vary in length ( from 350- 700 )
• Text types :
Advertisements
Messages
Newspapers
Magazine articles

30. • To encourage different reading styles
The goal of these tasks

31. The International English Language Testing
System (IELTS)
• Produced by the UCLES
• For non-native English speakers
• Reading / Linguistic competence
(Munby, 1978, and Weir, 1983)

32. Analysis of target language use situations and texts
• The use of texts that reflect what academic readers are supposed to do
“Texts are taken from magazines, journals, books, and newspapers. Texts have been written
for a non-specialist audience. All the topics are of general interests. They deal with issues
which are interesting, recognizably appropriate and accessible to candidates entering
postgraduate or undergraduate courses. At least one text contains detailed logical argument.”
(IELTS Handbook, 1999:6)

33. IELTS attempts to measure the following
constructs: (IELTS Specifications, December 1989)
1. Identifying structure, content, sequence of events and procedures
2. Following instructions
3. Finding main ideas which the writer has attempted to make salient
4. Identifying the underlying theme or concept
5. Identifying ideas in the text, and relationships between them, e.g. probability,
solution, cause, effect
6. Identifying, distinguishing, and comparing facts, evidence, opinions,
implications, definitions and hypotheses

34. • Evaluating and challenging evidence
• Formulating a hypothesis from underlying theme, concept and evidence
• Reaching a conclusion by relating supporting evidence to the main idea
• Drawing logical inferences

35. According to Witt (1997), the major skills/things
students need to know/do are:
1. Know:
• How to understand main ideas
• How to find specific information
2. Do:
• Survey the text
• Analyze the questions
• Go back to the text to find answers
• Check your answers.

36. IELTS does not test the
testee’s ability to read for
pleasure, but her/his ability
to find information quickly
and accurately.

37. To develop ways of reading quickly and efficiently,
the test takers need to:
1. Survey the passage, not reading every word
2. Read the instructions carefully
3. Find the specific information needed
4. Allow time for checking answers
5. Looking back at answers they are unsure of
6. Analyze the question (what is being requested, does the question require general
or specific information)
7. When to look for a specific information and how to find it.

38. IELTS Vs. FCE
We can have different constructs of reading
They are not necessarily mutually exclusive (each one is valid for its own purpose)

39. Descriptors of reading ability in scales of
language proficiency
• Test specifications are a source that provides information about the construct
that that underlies an assessment procedure.
• However, constructs of language proficiency can also be defined by designing
scales of proficiency.
• Proficiency is divided into stages of development
• When developing these stages, developers relied on theory AND the expertise of
other scale developers.

40. The scales they developed and their associated descriptors are:
The productive skills of Speaking and Writing
Because
They can be used to assess performance
AND
They can relate to learners’ actual performances: Record learners’ interlanguage
and analyze its salient features.

41. The study of North for the CEF and the Swiss Language
Portfolio: He explored the construct of reading by studying many scales of
reading ability AND get teachers’ constructs of reading.
STEP 1 STEP 2
• A series of workshops for teachers: asked to
judge descriptors of reading ability taken
from different scales.
•Asked to reject verbose, and ambiguous
descriptors.
•Teachers’ most interpreted descriptors were
put in a questionnaires
•These questionnaires were used by the
teachers as part of their students’ summative
assessment.

42. Results:
• The construct o reading is different from that of listening and speaking.
• They came up with an overall scale and subscales.

43. OVERALL READING COMPREHENSION
C2 Can understand and interpret critically virtually all forms of the written language including abstract,
structurally complex, or highly colloquial literary and non-literary writings
Can understand a wide range of long and complex texts, appreciating subtle distinctions f style and implicit as
well as explicit meaning.
C1 Can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts, whether of not they relate to his/her own area of specialty,
provided s/he can reread difficult questions.
B2 Can read with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and
purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively. Has a broad active reading vocabulary, but may
experience some difficulty with lo-frequency idioms.
B1 Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to her/his field of interest with a satisfactory level of
comprehension.
A2 Can understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type which consist of a high frequency
everyday or job-related language.
Can understand short, simple texts containing the highest frequency vocabulary, including a proportion of
shared international vocabulary items.
A1 Can understand very short, simple text a single phrase at a time, picking up familiar names, words and basic
phrases and rereading as required.

44. Constructs of reading and constructs of
communicative language ability:
• North showed how we can relate the construct of reading to the construct of
communicative language ability in the following extracts:

45. Strategic Competence in reading
• (Mastery Level)
Can adapt style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes.
• (Effectiveness Level)
Can read with a large degree of independence, using appropriate reference courses
selectively

46. Linguistic Competence in reading
• (Mastery Plus Level)
Can understand texts which contain complex and unfamiliar language.
• (Effectiveness Level)
Has a broad active reading vocabulary, but may experience some difficulty with
low-frequency idioms.
Can understand grammatical patterns, and vocabulary ordinarily encountered in
academic/professional reading

47. Discourse Competence in reading
• (Mastery Level)
Can distinguish in details the various parts of the treatments of a theme and
understand their interrelations.
• (Effectiveness Level)
Can separate the main ideas in details from lesser ones.
Can recognize the line of argument in the treatment of the issue presented, though
not necessarily in detail.

48. Sociolinguistic Competence in reading
• (Mastery Plus Level)
Can understand a wide variety of slang and pertinent cultural references.
Can appreciate humor and subtle or culture-dependent nuances of meaning or style.
• (Effectiveness Level)
Can understand many socio-linguistics and cultural references.

49. Summary
This chapter focuses on defining terms commonly used in reading assessment,
for example, construct, constructs of reading, and constructs and test
specifications. The general idea in this chapter is that assessors should "make
explicit the theoretical framework underlying the test" (p. 124). Alderson
critically examines the test specifications of the European Commission's
DIALANG diagnostic approach towards reading "UCLES" the first certificate in
English (FCE) and the IELTS test. Finally, he outlines descriptors of reading
proficiency, where he comments on the tendency for assessors to promote both
global and specific skills, and approaches to communicative reading tests

50. Reference
• Assessing Reading. (2000). J. Charles Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.