Cloze Test

Close or cloze deletion test is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed (cloze text) and the students are asked to replace the missing words.  The cloze tests require the ability to understand context and vocabulary  to be able to identify the correct words or type of words that belong in the deleted passages of a text.

            Words may be deleted from the text in question either mechanically (every nth word) or selectively, depending on what aspect the test intends to give emphasis to.

            This exercise is commonly administered for the assessment of native and second language learning and instruction. The word cloze is derived from closure in Gestalt theory. The exercise was first described by W.L. Taylor in 1953. According to him cloze tests is the systematic deletion of every nth word (5^th, 7^th, 10^th etc.) in a selection the mutilated language patterns are then administered to the reader who attempt to make the mutilated patterns whole again.

 CLOZE PROCEDURE

Purpose:  A strategy to help determine if the reading level is suitable or not.  Also can be used as a test of comprehension of the text being studied.
         1.  Select the passage from a textbook or trade book.
         2.  Retype the passage.  The first sentence is typed as it appears in original text.

               Replace every fifth word with a blank.        
         3.  Students read passage first.  Then guess what belongs in each blank.
         4.  Score the work, 1 point for each correct answer.
          5.  Compare the percentage of correct word replacement with this scale:

How do we score the text?

            The percentage is determined by dividing the number of correct answer by the total number of cloze items on the test. The percentage of items correctly completed by a subject can then be compared with a criterion scale. Rankin and Culhane developed a criterion scale in which three levels set thus:

1.    Independent level – correct replacement of 61% or more of deleted words.

2.    Instructional level- correct replacement of 41% of deleted words.

3.    Frustration level- less than 40% of deleted words were replaced correctly.

 Example:
A language teacher may give the following passage to students:
Today, I went to the ________ and bought some milk and eggs. I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot to take my ________, and ended up getting wet on the way ________.