Reading comprehension & spelling tests in Maltese and English

Abstract

The opening line of Professor Joseph Falzon's introduction to his English and Maltese reading and comprehension measures states that "There is a general dearth of standardised tests which are applicable to Maltese children" 1 . He wrote this in 1967 and more than 40 years later the situation has not improved much. Why are tests needed one may ask, when we are already living in a test driven society where skills and abilities may be described adequately and possibly even measured by level descriptors and other methods of assessment? The reasons are many and foremost among them are the following:

Firstly, no one measure used in the school setting is specific enough to particular areas of the curriculum, hence necessitating very specific, if limited, measures of the skills and abilities assessed, such as is the case with reading and spelling.

Secondly, there are no tests standardised on the whole of the Maltese population that may be used to assess children between the ages of 6½ and 16 years from different localities and school sectors on the island.

Thirdly, because of the homogeneity of these measures, learners' progress can be charted systematically, reliably and validly over their career at school.

Fourthly, in an examination driven culture, it is essential to have measures that present children with previously unseen literacy tasks comparable over time and school sectors, something that regular school tests or national examinations cannot do by their very nature. [excerpt]