Multiple-choice and cloze procedures in reading tests: what do they really measure?

Authors

  • Miriam Sester Retorta

Keywords:

tests, multiple choice, cloze, assessment, reading strategies, testing strategies

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study carried out from July 1995 to August 1996, with the aim of finding out what mental process(es) a testee goes through while taking multiple-choice and cloze test. Twentythree proficient non-native English speakers were asked to answer three multiple-choice tests and one cloze test, and write a report on how they reached the answers. Two flow-charts of strategies used to achieve the correct answers were then designed. It was found that not only do testees use reading strategies but they also get engaged in a complex task of designing strategies to arrive at the correct answers.

Author Biography

Miriam Sester Retorta

Miriam Sester Retorta – High School teacher at Centro de Educação Tecnológica do Paraná. M.A. in Applied Linguistics, Universidade Federal do Paraná. Current PhD student in Applied Linguistics at IEL, Universidade Estadual de Campinas.

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Issue

Vol. 22 No. 2 (2001)

Section

Papers

License

The authors grant the journal all copyrights relating to the published works. The concepts issued in signed articles are the absolute and exclusive responsibility of their authors.