C H A P T E R 5

Assessing Learners'
Understanding
of Literature
Prepared by:
Nizelle Arevalo
Antonette Aparicio
Joan Molleno
Maynard Rex Romero
How to assess pupils’
learning
in a literature
class?
 LESSON 15:

Qualities of a Good
Reading and Text
Comprehension
Test
 TEST
A 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
It is the process of interpreting the
information collected useful in making
decisions about a learner's performance.
Instances require the teacher to make a
critical decision about a learner's
performance.
 ASSESSMENT

There is a need to use written tests,

actual performance, observations, and
other measures. In this systematic
process, the language teacher is engaged
in assessment.
Purposes of Reading and
Text Comprehension
Tests
 To measure the extent of the learners'
achievement of the instructional
objectives.
 To diagnose the learners' strengths and
weaknesses.
 To monitor learners' progress in
learning.
 To measure aptitude for learning.
 To evaluate the effectiveness of teaching.
 To classify or place learners in
appropriate reading classes.
 To determine readiness for instructional
processes.
Qualities of a
Good Test
o VALIDITY

– the ability of the test to measure what it

intends to assess. Inferences made from
the results are appropriate, meaningful,
and useful (Gronlund, 1998).
To ensure a valid test, it must have
content validity (test items are based on
the objectives and content of the lessons.
It must possess face validity (how 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.
o 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.
If a reading test is retested to the same
group of learners and the correlation
yields a significant coefficient, the
method to establish reliability is test-
retest. If an equivalent form of a reading
test (that is, Form A and Form B) is used
to the same group of learners, and the
two sets of scores are significantly
correlated, the method used is called
parallel-form or equivalent-form
technique.
If the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 is
used to determine how well the test
measures what it intends to measure,
that method is an internal consistency
technique. When the test scores are
divided into odd-numbered item scores
and even- numbered item scores, then the
two sets of scores are tested for
correlation index, the method used is
split-half.
o 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.