The influence of readibility of examination questions on achievement in senior secondary school mathematics : a study on verbal problems with special reference to second language readers

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This study investigates the influence of readability of mathematics examination questionson achievement. The aim of any mathematics examination is to assess whether the aimsof a specific mathematics programme have been realized. Readability factors thatunnecessarily prevent a clear understanding of questions could jeopardize this aim. Theimportant issue is, therefore, whether there are indeed readability factors in mathematicsexamination questions that cause comprehension problems for students and, if there are,do they hav~ any effect on test scores?The issue of readability is of even greater importance for second language readers. Inthe South Mrican context, the reading problems of second language readers are ofparticular importance as most students at school are second language learners. Animportant question would therefore be: What readability factors cause comprehensiondifficulties for second language students, especially those whose mother tongue is notkindred to English? Furthermore, what is the influence of cultural factors on readability?This study provides answers to these and other related questions for mathematics textat senior secondary school level.Protocol analysis was used to ascertain what readability problems are experienced bystudents when reading examination questions in mathematics. Three different languagegroups, comprising 17 -18-year-old students, were used in the study: English FirstLanguage students and two groups who had English as a second language. One secondlanguage group had Mrikaans as first language while the other group comprised Mricanstudents whose mother tongue is unrelated to English. A framework was developed toanalyse the protocols and it comprised five categories:unfamiliar vocabularystructural problemsobscure informationvisualization difficultiesnon-verbal factorsMter the protocol study, students were asked to adapt the examination questions to amore comprehensible form. Students' adaptations addressed lexical, syntactical, discourse and non-verbal factors. Most of the readability problems identified in the literature studywere verified in the empirical study. However, the empirical study generated additionalreadability problems that are mainly restricted to mathematics text and relate to nonverbalfactors like mathematical expressions. During the last phase of the empirical studya composite test was used to test the hypothesis that improved readability of the commonlanguage used in mathematics examination questions' will improve achievement. Nine socalledword problems from previous examination papers were set in three differentversions: original, adapted and non-verbal.The hypothesis was confirmed in a number of important cases. A significant finding ofthe study was, therefore, that readability factors not only influence the comprehensionof mathematics examination questions, but also have a marked influence on students'achievement levels. The results of the empirical study are reported quantitatively as wellas qualitatively. Other results include the following:Not only second language students, but also first language students experienceda variety of readability problems.All three language groups demonstrated the same level of competency on thenon-verbal versions. When comparing test scores of the verbal versions,differences in achievement levels between the different language groups wereoften caused by linguistic and cultural factors.Cultural thought patterns, typical of a mother tongue but absent in a secondlanguage, were often a source of comprehension difficulties for second languagereaders.This study has led to certain conclusions for teaching and examination practice. Forexample, factors influencing the readability of ordinary English should be considered withother factors when writing mathematics examination questions. Furthermore, thedistinctly different reading needs of second language students suggest that examinationpapers be set, so that the language needs of second language learners areaccommodated.Guidelines for writing more readable examination questions were developed and arepresented as a readability checklist. Suggestions for further research include theinvestigation of the influence of readability on achievement in authentic examinationconditions.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University