Test performance

To succeed in tests does not require only content knowledge. Test-taking strategies are other factors which help students to achieve high scores in tests. The present mixed-method study set out to examine the relationship between test-taking strategies and reading test performance. To achieve the objectives of the study, a reading comprehension test, and a 35-item Likert type strategy questionnaire were given to 214 male and female university students. Analysis of the gathered data revealed that there was a positive relationship between test-taking strategies and reading test performance and that successful, moderately, successful, and unsuccessful test-takers differed in their use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. To gain an in depth view on strategy use pattern of the test-takers, retrospective interviews along with think-aloud protocols were applied which revealed the use of metacognitive test-taking strategies more than cognitive ones. These findings can have beneficial implications for language testers, teachers, learners, and course developers.

More innovative test methods may measure language learners’ test performance more accurately, contributing to much fairer decisions. This study examined Iranian language learners’ performance on cloze-elide test as an innovative, integrative test method. It specifically focused on investigating whether personality types correlated with their performance and whether personality types could predict their test performance. Data were collected from 283 Iranian language learners at six Iranian language institutes, who took the cloze-elide test, the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP), and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI-M) Personality Type Inventory. The data were quantitatively analysed using SPSS (version 22). The results of Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between thinking and performance on cloze-elide test; by contrast, extroversion and feeling negatively correlated with language learners’ performance on cloze-elide test. Furthermore, the results from the standard multiple regression showed that the strongest personality type for predicting language learners’ performance on the test was introversion. The findings suggest the interaction between personality types and test methods may better explain test results. The article concludes with some implications for curriculum development.