Earticle

초록

영어

In search of the optimal length of reading comprehension passages in English language tests, this paper looks at existing test specifications searching for any consensus on the text length. Test specifications or released test items were classified in terms of the purpose and target test-taker population of the tests. In analyzing the high school graduation tests in major US states in terms of the text length, number of passages and their test time, the study found that for the US secondary schools (grade 6 and above), at least an average of 500 words were designated for a passage to meet the statewide grade school standards for the English using ability. The specified length of a passage in major EAP tests including IELTS and TOEFL was seen to converge around an average of 700 words. The passage length of tests for general purposes was found to be much shorter, evidenced in a few different tests currently administered in Europe, the US and Korea. With regard to these findings, the paper further looks into some other considerations (local independence assumption of item response theory that influences the number of items per passage, power vs. speed test and readability of a text) in tailoring the length of reading passages that suits the test purpose. The uses of the findings are also discussed and a suggestion for future research is made in the last section of the paper.

목차

I. Introduction
 II. Previous studies
 III. Method
  1. Need to consult test specifications
  2. Examining text length according to test purpose
  3. Research questions
 IV. Analysis of different tests or test specifications
  1. EAP tests for secondary school standards in the USA
  2. EAP tests for college entrance
  3. EAP tests for adults : Common Final Test(CFT)
  4. EFL tests for general purposes
  5. Foreign language tests : Computerized Assessment of Proficiency
  6. EFL tests for a specific purpose : Test Of English for International Communication(TOEIC)
 V. Results and discussion
  1. Local independence assumption in item response theory
  2. Power vs. speed test
  3. Readability of the text
 VI. Implications and suggestions
 Works Cited
 Appendix
 Abstract

키워드

저자

• Yi, Yeon-Sook [ 이연숙 | Seoul National University ]

참고문헌

발행기관

간행물

표지보기 관심저널 등록

• 간행물명

  영어영문학연구 [The Jungang Journal of English Language and Literature]

• 간기

  계간

• pISSN

  1598-3293

• 수록기간

  1968~2026

• 등재여부

  KCI 등재

• 십진분류

  KDC 840 DDC 810