Research On Open-ended Questions In The Reading Section Of The High School Entrance Examinatio

Increasing the openness of test questions is the basic trend of language curriculum assessment reform.In recent years,there has been a gradual increase in the number of open-ended test questions in the Chinese language examinations.Currently,such questions are presented in test papers with characteristics such as uniqueness of answers,need for more textual elaboration by students,and emphasis on testing students’ thinking skills.There has not been a large-scale discussion on how to improve the quality of such test questions,reduce measurement errors,and design appropriate open-ended ranges.In this study,348 open-ended questions in the reading comprehension section of102 Chinese examination papers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are used as the research objects to analyze the main characteristics and problems of open-ended questions in Chinese examination reading,taking 2019 to 2022 as the time period.In terms of the number of questions and scores,the total number of open questions in the Chinese examination papers of both provinces has increased year by year in recent years,and the total number of open questions in different papers varies greatly;the scores of such questions in both provinces vary within a certain range,and the trend of score changes is consistent.In terms of the types of openness of the test questions,the conclusion openness category accounted for the largest number of questions,and the comprehensive openness increased year by year.In terms of text types,the proportion of single texts associated with open-ended test questions is greater than that of multiple texts in the test papers of the two provinces,and the overall trend of multiple texts is increasing over time;in terms of text forms,continuous texts predominate,while discontinuous texts and mixed texts increase year by year.The richness of the format reflects the variety of reading styles and enables the test questions to test students’ ability to use reading strategies in a more comprehensive way.In terms of textual contexts,the test questions have the highest proportion of personal contexts,which truly and objectively reflect students’ individual reading comprehension and emotional and attitudinal values;public contexts have slightly increased compared to previous years,guiding students to read socially and testing their ability to solve real problems.In terms of test task design,the test tasks of this type of test in the two provinces have become more relevant to the text year by year,the test tasks with direct and clear cognitive objectives have decreased year by year,and the clarity and consistency of open-ended questions have been enhanced;in terms of the design of measurement objectives,the two provinces show significant differences in the orientation of the ability levels of the reading open-ended test propositions,which observe students’ abilities at different levels and in an integrated manner,but neither province focuses on higher-order thinking as the assessment.It is advisable to explore the plurality of ways to combine texts,to enrich the open forms of test questions,and to explore the distinction between different levels of thinking.In response to the open-ended reading test questions proposed in recent years,language teachers are advised to pay attention to the design of students’ learning reading process,develop matching process evaluation scales,and launch personalized post-test guidance;students should develop the reading habit of comparing and analyzing different texts when learning to read,enhance their sensitivity to appreciate and evaluate texts,and be good at seeking commonalities while reserving differences in group reading activities.