Abstract
It is imperative that teachers need to assess their learners’ reading proficiency. Incidentally, most assessments developed and conducted by teachers merely discriminate who among their learners are performing better than the other. These assessments deplorably provide nothing more than norm reference data. Nonetheless, this is the only information that teachers have pertaining to the reading proficiency of their learners. A test score preferably should supply teachers with analytical information of what learners can or cannot do. The test scores should allow teachers to determine where the learners’ position in their reading development. It is long overdue for teachers and those in the education enterprise to take a closer look behind test scores and their learners’ precise abilities. As such, it was felt that a system that not only provides test scores but matches learners’ performance against a benchmark and divulge their precise reading abilities should be developed. This article traces the development of a Reading Evaluation and Decoding System (READS) comprising an Encoder, Analyser and Decoder components. A prototype system was first devised based on the Malaysian school curriculum. Next, a model encoder was developed and piloted on more than three thousand students. Their scores were then used to develop the Analyser. Finally, the Decoder was developed based on data gathered from the respondents. The three components of READS were then calibrated and refined through more tests for accuracy. The study found that READS is a reliable system to evaluate learners’ performance and decode their reading abilities.
Highlights
It is imperative that teachers need to assess their learners’ reading proficiency
Despite the equal importance attached to both categories of receptive and productive skills, reading is traditionally considered to be a vital requisite for the effective acquisition of knowledge and a major source of input for both writing and speaking
It appears that reading instruction and assessment has always been a prominent component in the Malaysian school curriculum
Summary
Despite the equal importance attached to both categories of receptive (reading and listening) and productive skills (speaking and writing), reading is traditionally considered to be a vital requisite for the effective acquisition of knowledge and a major source of input for both writing and speaking. It is obvious from the foregoing that within the reading domain, ESL teachers in Malaysia, as elsewhere, should be equipped with effective evaluative tools that can elicit accurate information with regard to their learners’ actual reading abilities This is especially pertinent to pedagogues as such information serves as a vital source of feedback through which teachers can continuously monitor progress within the reading classroom in order to ensure their consonance with their learners’ abilities and potential (Allen, 2000). This paper purports to explicate in detail the conceptualisation and implementation of a Reading Evaluation and Decoding System (READS) designed to provide a comprehensive and accurate picture of a learner’s actual capabilities within the reading classroom
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