Investigating the Effectiveness of Reading Passages and Comprehension Questions in Grade 9 Teacher- Made Exams: The Case of ASCO Secondary School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of reading passages and comprehension questions in grade nine teacher-made exams of Asco Secondary School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The data of the study were collected through document analysis, questionnaire and semi-structure interview. The data sources were three grade nine teacher- made reading exams of different years, ninety-six students and six English language teachers. The collected data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.  The findings of the study revealed that the reading passages lacked coherence. Besides, the comprehension questions didn't focus on checking students understanding of the passages. Rather, they focused on certain areas like, looking for specific information and vocabulary questions. Besides, there were questions which can be answered without reading the passages. Moreover, it was found that most of the items could not discriminate. As a result, the majority of the items had unacceptable discrimination index.  The conclusion made from the study was that the reading exams lacked some of the important constituents that make reading exams effective. Thus, it was recommended that giving teachers training or seminar on testing reading skills specifically and testing in general was significant for tackling the problem.