Using WebClass for Reduced Redundancy Testing

Wojciech Malec

Abstract


This article examines and reviews two types of reduced redundancy tests, namely cloze tests and C-tests, which involve completing a text from which certain units (whole words or their parts) have been removed. Assessment instruments of this kind are typically used to measure overall language proficiency, for example for the purpose of making placement decisions. The paper also discusses the development of these two measures of reduced redundancy with the help of the WebClass testing system.

Keywords


language testing; reduced redundancy; cloze; C-test; WebClass

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aitken, K. G. (1977). Using cloze procedure as an overall language proficiency test. TESOL Quarterly, 11(1), 59–67.

Alderson, J. Ch. (1979). The cloze procedure and proficiency in English as a foreign language. TESOL Quarterly, 13(2), 219–227.

Babaii, E., & Ansary, H. (2001). The C-test: A valid operationalization of reduced redundancy principle? System, 29(2), 209–219.

Bachman, L. F. (1982). The trait structure of cloze test scores. TESOL Quarterly, 16(1), 61–70.

Bachman, L. F. (1985). Performance on cloze tests with fixed-ratio and rational deletions. TESOL Quarterly, 19(3), 535–556.

Barnwell, D. P. (1996). A History of Foreign Language Testing in the United States: From Its Beginnings to the Present. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press.

Beard, J. G. (1967). Comprehensibility of high school textbooks: Association with content area. Journal of Reading, 11(3), 229–234.

Bisping, M., & Raatz, U. (2002). Sind computerisierte und Papier&Bleistift-Versionen des C-Tests äquivalent? In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), Der C-Test: Theoretische Grundlagen und praktische Anwendungen (Vol. 4, pp. 131–155). Bochum: AKS-Verlag.

Boonsathorn, S., & Kaoropthai, Ch. (2016). QSAT: The web-based mC-test as an alternative English proficiency test. TESOL International Journal, 11(2), 91–107.

Bormuth, J. R. (1968). Cloze test readability: Criterion reference scores. Journal of Educational Measurement, 5(3), 189–196.

Bormuth, J. R. (1969). Factor validity of cloze tests as measures of reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 4(3), 358–365.

Bradshaw, J. (1990). Test-takers’ reactions to a placement test. Language Testing, 7(1), 13–30.

Brown, J. D. (1988). Tailored cloze: Improved with classical item analysis techniques. Language Testing, 5(1), 19–31.

Brown, J. D. (1993). What are the characteristics of natural cloze tests? Language Testing, 10(2), 93–116.

Brown, J. D. (2002). Do cloze tests work? Or, is it just an illusion? Second Language Studies, 21(1), 79–125.

Byrne, M. A., Feldhusen, J. F., & Kane, R. B. (1971). The relationships among two cloze measurement procedures and divergent thinking abilities. Reading Research Quarterly, 6(3), 378–393.

Cash, M. M., & Schumm, J. S. (2006). Making sense of knowledge: Comprehending expository text. In J. S. Schumm (Ed.), Reading Assessment and Instruction for All Learners (pp. 262–296). New York: The Guilford Press.

Chapelle, C. A., & Abraham, R. G. (1990). Cloze method: What difference does it make? Language Testing, 7(2), 121–146.

Claiborne, J. D. (1990). Mathematical Preliminaries for Computer Networking. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Coleman, J. A. (1996). A comparative survey of the proficiency and progress of language learners in British universities. In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), Der C-Test. Theoretische Grundlagen und praktische Anwendungen (Vol. 3, pp. 367–399). Bochum: Brockmeyer.

Culhane, J. W. (1970). CLOZE procedures and comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 23(5), 410–464.

Delbridge, A., & Bernard, J. R. L. (1966). Patterns in Language. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

Dörnyei, Z., & Katona, L. (1992). Validation of the C-test amongst Hungarian EFL learners. Language Testing, 9(2), 187–206.

Eckes, T., & Grotjahn, R. (2006). A closer look at the construct validity of C-tests. Language Testing, 23(3), 290–325.

Fano, R. M. (1961). Introductory remarks to the third session of the Symposium on the Structure of Language and its Mathematical Aspects. In R. Jakobson (Ed.), Structure of Language and its Mathematical Aspects: Proceedings of the Twelfth Symposium in Applied Mathematics (pp. 261–263). Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society.

Grotjahn, R. (2013). Cloze test. In Michael Byram & Adelheid Hu (Eds.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning (2nd ed.), pp. 121–122. Abingdon: Routledge.

Hale, G. A., Stansfield, Ch. W., Rock, D. A., Hicks, M. M., Butler, F. A., & Oller, J. W. (1989). The relation of multiple-choice cloze items to the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Language Testing, 6(1), 47–76. DOI:10.1177/026553228900600106.

Heidermann, D., & Kebble, P. G. (2017). IELTS Score Predictor [Apple app]. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ielts-score-predictor/id1190170836.

Horning, A. S. (1987). Teaching Writing as a Second Language. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Huhta, A. (1996). Validating an EFL C-test for students of English philology. In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), Der C-Test. Theoretische Grundlagen und praktische Anwendungen (Vol. 3, pp. 197–234). Bochum: Brockmeyer.

Jafarpur, A. (1995). Is C-testing superior to cloze? Language Testing, 12(2), 194–216.

Jafarpur, A. (1999a). Can the C-test be improved with classical item analysis? System, 27(1), 79–89.

Jafarpur, A. (1999b). What’s magical about the rule-of two for constructing C-tests? RELC Journal, 30(2), 86–100.

Kebble, P. G. (2018). Designing and assessing a digital, discipline-specific literacy assessment tool. EuroCALL Review, 26(1), 79–88.

Khodadady, E. (2013). Authenticity and sampling in C-tests: A schema-based and statistical response to Grotjahn’s critique. The International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 2(1), 1–17.

Khokhryakov, I. (2019). C-Test Generator [Android app]. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appdroid.develop.c_testgenerator.

Klein-Braley, Ch. (1985). A cloze-up on the C-test: A study in the construct validation of authentic tests. Language Testing, 2(1), 76–104.

Klein-Braley, Ch. (1997). C-Tests in the context of reduced redundancy testing: An appraisal. Language Testing, 14(1), 47–84.

Klein-Braley, Ch, & Raatz, U. (1984). A survey of research on the C-Test. Language Testing, 1(2), 134–146.

Koller, G., & Zahn, R. (1996). Computer based construction and evaluation of C-tests. In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), Der C-Test: Theoretische Grundlagen und praktische Anwendungen (Vol. 3, pp. 401–418). Bochum: Brockmeyer.

Lado, R. (1986). Analysis of native speaker performance on a cloze test. Language Testing, 3(2), 130–146.

Lehmann, Ch. (2005). Pleonasm and hypercharacterisation. In G. Booij, & J. van Marle (Eds.), Yearbook of Morphology 2005 (pp. 119–154). Dordrecht: Springer.

Linnemann, M., & Wilbert, J. (2010). The C-test: A valid instrument for screening language skills and reading comprehension of children with learning problems? In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), The C-Test: Contributions from Current Research (pp. 113–124). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag.

Malec, W. (2016). Automating the construction of selected-response items with a text-to-items converter. CBU International Conference Proceedings, 4, 864–872.

Malec, W. (2018). Developing Web-Based Language Tests. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL.

McKay, T. H., Teimouri, Y., Sağdıç, A., Salen, B., Reagan, D., & Malone, M. E. (2021). The cagey C-test construct: Some evidence from a meta-analysis of correlation coefficients. System, 99, 102526.

Mozgalina, A., & Ryshina-Pankova, M. (2015). Meeting the challenges of curriculum construction and change: Revision and validity evaluation of a placement test. The Modern Language Journal, 99(2), 346–370.

Norris, J. M. (2006). Development and evaluation of a curriculum-based German C-test for placement purposes. In R. Grotjahn (Ed.), The C-Test: Theory, Empirical Research, Applications (pp. 45–83). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag.

Oakes, M. P. (1998). Statistics for Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Odendahl, W. (2019). Gateways, placements, and grouping: Automating the C-Test for language proficiency ranking. Interface – Journal of European Languages and Literatures, 8, 29–67.

Oller, J. W. (1972). Scoring methods and difficulty levels for cloze tests of proficiency in English as a second language. The Modern Language Journal, 56(3), 151–158.

Oller, J. W. (1979). Language Tests at School. London: Longman.

Oller, J. W., & Conrad, Ch. A. (1971). The cloze technique and ESL proficiency. Language Learning, 21(2), 183–195.

Oller, J. W., & Jonz, J. (1994). Why cloze procedure? In J. W. Oller, & J. Jonz (Eds.), Cloze and Coherence (pp. 1–20). London, Toronto: Associated University Presses.

Porter, D. (1976). Modified cloze procedure: A more valid reading comprehension test. ELT Journal, 30(2), 151–155.

Raatz, U. (1985). Better theory for better tests? Language Testing, 2(1), 60–75.

Rankin, E. F., & Culhane, J. W. (1969). Comparable cloze and multiple-choice comprehension test scores. Journal of Reading, 13(3), 193–198.

Renkema, J. (2004). Introduction to Discourse Studies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Riggs, D., & Maimone, L. L. (2018). A computer-administered C-test in Spanish. In J. M. Norris (Ed.), Developing C-Tests for Estimating Proficiency in Foreign Language Research (pp. 265–294). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag.

Schneyer, J. W. (1965). Use of the cloze procedure for improving reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 19(3), 174–179.

Shannon, C. (1948). A mathematical theory of communication. Bell System Technical Journal, 27, 379–423, 623–656.

Spolsky, B. (1968). What does it mean to know a language, or how do you get someone to perform his competence? Paper presented at the Second Conference on Problems in Foreign Language Testing, University of Southern California, 7–9 November. Washington, DC: ERIC.

Stubbs, J. B., & Tucker, G. R. (1974). The cloze test as a measure of English proficiency. The Modern Language Journal, 58(5/6), 239–241.

Taylor, W. L. (1953). Cloze procedure: A new tool for measuring readability. Journalism Quarterly, 30(4), 414–438.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2021.45.3.33-43
Date of publication: 2021-10-07 12:44:40
Date of submission: 2021-06-28 12:45:51


Statistics


Total abstract view - 860
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 374

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2021 Wojciech Malec

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.