IELTS Research Reports

Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading testType 1: True/False/Not givenThe most common task-type was True/False/Not given, accounting for about a quarter of all items(26% – see Table 4). In this format, test-takers typically needed to evaluate the truth status of summaryinformation derived from the reading passage. In all cases in the corpus, this information was foundto be in the form of a single sentence, and was normally related to a cognate sentence (or part ofa sentence) from the reading passage. In those cases, where the true or false options applied, thesentence was typically constructed either as a synonymous (or near synonymous) paraphrase versionof the related information from the passage, or was divergent in meaning in some way (eg. in acontradictory relationship). The exceptional case was the ‘Not given’ option, where the prompt was aproposition not included in the reading passage.Sample 1:1 below is an example of the True/False/Not given task format, showing several sampleitems. Included in the sample are extracts from the associated reading passage showing relevantcontent for each item. Examples of both ‘true’ and ‘false’ formats are shown.An alternative wording for this task-type noted in the data was to use Yes/No/Not given optionsrather than True/False/Not given. Thus, instead of writing true/false “if the statement agreed with /contradicted the information”, test-takers were asked to write yes/no. There would appear to be nosubstantive difference in these variable rubrics.True/False/Not given taskDo the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?On your answer sheet write:TRUEFALSENOT GIVENif the statement agrees with the informationif the statement contradicts the informationif there is no information on this1. It has been suggested that children hold mistaken views about the ‘pure’ science that they study at school.Relevant material from reading passageMany studies have shown that children harbour misconceptions about purecurriculum science …Correct response: TRUE2. The plight of the rainforest has largely been ignored by the media.Relevant material from reading passageDespite the extensive coverage in the popular media of the destruction of therainforests, little formal information is available about children’s idea in this area.Correct response: FalseSample 1.1: True/False/Not given task (Sample 1:1 denotes that this is a Type 1 sample (i.e.True/False) and that this is the first sample of this type)IELTS Research Reports Volume 11201