Creating and Moderating Items for a Business English Reading Test

彭晨晨

1. Introduction

Considering the importance of business English for a business English student， creating an applicable test to show students achievement in business English is in need. The purpose of this paper is to explore problems and solutions on a small scale during creating some items on business English reading test for business English students. This paper consists of five parts： introduction， literature review， Methodology， Sample test items， a reference.

2. Literature review

2.1 what should be considered when creating a reading test？

According to Hughes（2003）， Henning （1987）， Brown （2004） and Kerlinger （1973）， its better to include the followings： time allotment， content range of testing， criteria levels of performance， scoring procedures， examination points allocation， choose the original material （6 Points）.

2.2 the principle of choosing original text？

No repeatedly selected texts of a kind； appropriate length； passages containing discrete pieces of information； a clearly recognizable structure； interesting； avoid texts of candidates general knowledge.

2.3 the principle of choosing multiple-choice as test items？

The Alderson et al. （1995） claimed that multiple-choice items should be presented in context； the correct alternative should not look so different from the other distracters； each option should fit equally well into the stem， and it will be a poor item is we choose correct answer by our common sense and experience.

3. Methodology

The reading test is created according to the syllables of Zunyi Medical Universitys Business English. The related books include： success with BEC students & teachers book （Higher）； business certificates handbook for teachers； BEC Higher examination paper.

According to BEC （higher） handbook， the whole test should include 6 parts. Parts 1 to 3 test candidates reading comprehension skills. Parts 4 to 6 test candidates understanding of the meaning of written English at word， phrase， sentence and paragraph level. In this handbook， 4 multiple choices cloze without an introduction can better meet the examining points： business word collaboration and synonyms exchanging （lexical knowledge）.

This paper mainly discuss the cloze part. The clozes general frame is built according to 6 Points written in Literature review. Table 1 shows some information should be gathered before editing the items.

4. Sample test items

The procedure of writing and moderating 2 items：

The original text： Low Growth

（1） While many Tunisians complain about the rising cost of living and the of economic opportunity， the economy itself has been stagnating.

A. absent B. lack C. deficiency D. abundant

Editing process： the answer is B. Most students will mix the use of lack （noun & verb） and absent （adjective）. Deficiency refers to body needs or a weakness. In Chinese， these three words can be the same meaning， which may lead to improper use. The last option is designed to obtain a large range of vocabulary. If the test takers dont know the meaning of stagnating or abundant， it will be tricky for them to get the correct answer.

Moderation： Option C is moderated. The first time I choosing is ‘loss because “ the loss of opportunity” fit more in this situation. While loss is too simple for senior students， and when put “loss” in context， it could easily be excluded. “Deficiency” in business should connect with financial situation.

（2） Growth has been too low to absorb the numbers graduating from university， and this year alone foreign investment fell 25%.

A. to B. almost C. properly D. by

Editing process： the answer is D. Different preposition would result in huge difference， although most of them could be similar meaning in Chinese. “By” in Business English means the scale. “Fell by 25%” would mean loss 25% completely. “To” means the total number is 25%.. In business， people are accustomed to the word “by” to express how much they gain or lose. It will need some business background to write the answer right.

Moderation： Option C is moderated. The first choice I put is ‘about， in this context， its also correct. Therefore there will be 2 correct answers， which is not allowed. So I change it into “properly” similar to “appropriate”.

References：

[1]Stobart，G.（2012）.Validity in formative assessment.In J.Gardner （ed.）Assessment and learning.（pp.233-242）.London：Sage.