Abstract
Background: Students need to be equipped with higher thinking skills such as critical and creative thinking skills that are related to their evaluation ability in order to better prepare them for the future society. The current reading curricula worldwide emphasize on the enhancement of evaluation ability of students in schools. Accordingly, the comprehension tests should reflect these changes so as to improve teaching and learning.
Aim: This research aims to probe on how to set questions to better assess students’ ability to evaluate / appreciate the thoughts, literacy structures and language etc. in comprehension tests of Chinese language as first language.
Method: The author sampled 51 comprehension tests from secondary schools in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore, and did a comprehensive content analysis based on multiple perspectives of theories on reading, writing, and the Chinese language curriculum development.
Results: A framework of contents to be tested has been structured; A few types of questions have been designed. In addition, some strategies for setting questions to assess students’ evaluation ability in comprehension tests have also been discussed. The essential differences among the test papers in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore have been described.
Conclusion: There are a few key different focuses in assessing student’s evaluation ability in the comprehension tests in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The author then concluded that, to ensure the assessing evaluation ability effectively, the scale of contents for testing should be broadened, and more types of question should be developed. A variety of strategies for doing this are recommended accordingly.
| Keywords: | reading; assessment; evaluation ability |
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