The term "cloze" refers to a specific type of test, often used for assessing reading comprehension or language proficiency, where a person is required to supply words that have been systematically removed from a given text.
A cloze test is fundamentally a reading comprehension assessment designed to evaluate an individual's ability to understand the context and meaning of written language. It functions by presenting a passage of text with certain words omitted, and the test-taker's task is to fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words.
Understanding the Cloze Test
The concept behind cloze tests is rooted in Gestalt psychology, specifically the principle of "closure," which suggests that the human mind naturally seeks to complete incomplete patterns. In a cloze test, the missing words create an incomplete pattern, prompting the reader to use their understanding of grammar, vocabulary, and context to "close" the gaps.
- Mechanism: Words are deliberately deleted from a passage. These deletions can be systematic (e.g., every fifth word) or selective (e.g., targeting specific parts of speech or concepts).
- Purpose: The primary goal is to measure a reader's ability to integrate meaning across sentences and paragraphs, infer context, and demonstrate their grasp of the language's structure.
How a Cloze Test Works
Administering a cloze test typically involves these steps:
- Text Selection: An appropriate passage is chosen, usually one that is coherent and offers sufficient context for inferring missing words.
- Word Deletion: Words are removed from the text. Common methods include:
- Fixed-Ratio Deletion: Every nth word (e.g., every 5th or 7th word) is removed.
- Rational Deletion: Specific types of words (e.g., verbs, nouns, conjunctions) are removed to target particular language skills.
- Blank Creation: A blank space or line replaces each deleted word, often with a consistent length.
- Test Administration: Test-takers read the passage and fill in the blanks, trying to use the exact original words or semantically acceptable alternatives, depending on the scoring criteria.
Key Characteristics of Cloze Tests
Cloze tests offer unique insights into language proficiency and comprehension. Here's a summary of their core attributes:
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Primarily assesses reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, grammatical understanding, and overall language proficiency. |
| Methodology | Requires test-takers to infer meaning and appropriate vocabulary to fill in systematically deleted words from a text. |
| Application | Widely used in educational settings, second language acquisition, psychological assessments, and even in some forms of content analysis. |
| Scoring | Can be scored strictly (only original word correct) or more flexibly (synonyms or grammatically correct alternatives accepted). |
Example of a Cloze Passage
Here's a simple example to illustrate the concept:
"The sun was shining __, and the birds were singing in the __. A small squirrel scampered up a __ tree, looking for nuts."
A test-taker would need to fill in the blanks, likely with words such as "brightly," "trees," and "nearby." The ability to correctly infer these words demonstrates an understanding of the passage's context and a good grasp of the English language.
Benefits and Applications
Cloze tests are valuable tools for several reasons:
- Diagnostic Tool: They can help educators pinpoint specific areas where students struggle with reading comprehension, such as vocabulary, syntax, or inferential skills.
- Language Learning: For second language learners, cloze tests are effective for practicing contextual understanding, vocabulary acquisition, and grammatical structures.
- Assessments: They serve as reliable measures of readability for texts and the general reading ability of individuals or groups.
- Research: In linguistics and psychology, cloze procedures are used to study language processing and cognitive load.
By requiring test-takers to actively engage with the text and construct meaning, cloze tests provide a comprehensive evaluation of reading ability beyond simple recognition or recall.
