1997 TheUseOfTheCompAsAToolForTestReadComp

(Pilypas, 1997) ⇒ Helen Pilypas. (1997). “The Use of the Computer as a Tool for Testing Reading Comprehension.” BEd dissertation, School of Education, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide

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Abstract

The implementation of the DECStech 2001 project as a component of the South Australian public education system has produced even greater interest in the use of computers in schools. While online testing has been used in tertiary institutions to a limited extent, there has been little use of computer based testing in primary schools. Insufficient numbers of computers, limited access to the Internet, and lack of teacher expertise may have contributed to this. Once schools have viable access to the Internet, it is feasible that teachers with basic computer skills could produce their own online tests. The features of Internet Web design allow an online test format that is not difficult to create and that produces response data that are readily analysed. The question remains, however, whether the computer is a suitable tool for testing in primary schools and how performance on computer compares with more traditional testing measures.

Adopting a psycholinguistic approach, this thesis examines the use of the computer in schools as a testing tool, specifically for measuring reading comprehension. Two Year 5 classes participated in the study. A comparison of the results of their paper based and online cloze and maze tests indicates that online presentation may provide an acceptable, alternative mode for assessing reading comprehension. Whether previous computer experience and attitudes towards computers affects results is also examined. The thesis breaks new ground in the development of two different kinds of online reading comprehension tests and opens the way for a number of issues to be explored in the future.

THEORETICAL BASES FOR THE STUDY

http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/publications/THESES/pilypas97a/online3.htm

The psycholinguistic approach to reading comprehension measurement provides a sound theoretical basis for this study. This approach can be explained in the terms of Osgoodís language communication model (Anderson, 1976, p. 15) which consists of three components: Source System, Message System, and Receiver system

Readability and reading comprehension can be seen to be related concepts. While readability is characterised by the degree of comprehension with which a text is read, the ability of a reader to comprehend a text is influenced by the text's readability. In order to select a text for assessing reading comprehension, the readability of that text needs to be appropriate for the reading ability of the target population. Determining readability of a text can be quite complex. Rye (1982, p. 14) suggested that there are eleven major, often difficult to measure interacting factors (see Figure 2.4) which influence readability.

Readability is an estimate of the difficulty of a text. Formulas, which include factors such as sentence length, word length and word frequency have been developed to calculate readability.

Reading Comprehension is defined from a psycholinguistic viewpoint as "the correspondence between the way in which a message is encoded by the writer and the way in which it is decoded by the reader" (Anderson, 1976, p. 16).

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	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
1997 TheUseOfTheCompAsAToolForTestReadComp	Helen Pilypas			The Use of the Computer as a Tool for Testing Reading Comprehension			http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/publications/THESES/pilypas97a/online1.htm			1997