526 / 2020-03-18 14:33:31

Strategy Use in Answering Local-level Reading Comprehension Questions in Multiple-choice Format: A Multi-Sample SEM Approach

LRCQ, test-taking strategy, test validation, Structural Equation Modeling

语言评估与测试 > 语言评估与测试

This study examines test takers’ strategy use in answering LRCQ, i.e., Local-level Reading Comprehension Questions, in the context of CET-6, and aims to explore the relationship between strategy use and test performance through the application of structural equation modelling (SEM). The study was done by examining a total of 217 Chinese EFL test-takers’ responses to a 39-item strategy questionnaire, a 15-item LRCQ test, a 10-item banked cloze and a 20-item multiple-choice cloze. The banked cloze and multiple-choice cloze were included to investigate the role lexical-grammatical ability plays in local-level reading comprehension test performance. Half of the sample are “test-wise” students and half are “test-naïve” students (Cohen, 2013). The questionnaire was developed by drawing on Cohen’s test-taking strategy taxonomy as well as theories about metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies.

Main findings of the study include: first, a third-order strategy use model for LRCQ was found to fit the data. Secondly, strategy use was found to have a relatively small effect on test-takers’ performance in answering LRCQ. In addition, there was no significant difference between the test-wise group and test-naïve group in the way test-taking strategies affected their performance. Thirdly, lexico-grammatical ability had a direct and significant effect on test performance (β = 0.72), indicating language ability is the dominant contributor to test takers’ success in answering LRCQ. Findings of the study provide evidence for the validity of LRCQ in the context of CET-6.