1、 Skills for Life Reading Entry 1 Examination Report 2009 Test 087 2 Skills for Life Reading Examination Report: Entry 1 This report is based on candidate performance on one version of the Skills for Life Reading Entry 1 tests in 2008/9. The report is intended as an aid to teachers and colleges in pr
2、eparing candidates for future Cambridge ESOL Skills for Life Reading tests. Test 087 There were 36 marks available on the paper, 13 for Part 1, 9 for Part 2 and 14 for Part 3. The number of marks for each individual question is available on the question paper. The breakdown of marks available for ea
3、ch assessment focus (Text, Sentence and Word) is shown below. Text Sentence Word Total Part 1 4 0 9 13 Part 2 2 5 2 9 Part 3 0 12 2 14 Total 6 17 13 36 Overall, candidates taking this version of the test were a little more successful with Word-focus questions. Stronger candidates were least successf
4、ul with Text-focus questions and weaker candidates were least successful with Sentence-focus questions. The majority of candidates answered all the questions. However, some of the weaker candidates did not finish all of Part 3. Candidates should be encouraged to attempt all the questions as marks ar
5、e not deducted for incorrect answers. Part 1 Part 1 begins with a Job Centre form and the first four questions target information on the form. This is followed by three short texts. The stronger candidates coped very well with Question 1 and 91% identified the correct text type, a form. However, 30%
6、 of the weaker candidates ticked a timetable, possibly because the When can you work? section of the form contains days and times. In the True/False section, weaker candidates in particular had problems with Question 2A. Exam training identifying the written form of numbers would help prepare candid
7、ates for this type of question. Questions 2B2E presented fewer problems and Question 2E, where drive is given in the question and driving licence in the text, was answered particularly well. However, leaving questions unanswered was a significant issue for weaker candidates with the True/False quest
8、ions. Between 1938% of weaker candidates left one or more of these questions unticked. Exam training should stress the importance of answering all the questions. Most candidates answered Question 3 well. However, Question 4 was harder. Some candidates may not have realised that this was a different
9、question type (requiring a tick for each area of work). Exam training on question types would be useful here. Question 4B was the hardest of these Yes/No questions, possibly because some candidates did not read the question carefully and were distracted by Driving Licence being ticked in the text. I
10、dentifying Text B in Question 5 was the most challenging task in Part 1. This is possibly because some candidates did not read the question carefully and therefore did not realise they were being asked to identify text type. However, Text D in Question 5 was particularly well identified, possibly be
11、cause candidates were correctly using a range of visual clues including the tickets shape and layout as well as lexical information. Part 2 Part 2 consists of three work-related adverts. The weaker candidates coped less well with the first two Text-focus questions. They were possibly distracted in Q
12、uestion 6 by business in business cards. 32% 3 of weaker candidates ticked in a phone book for Question 7, perhaps distracted by the phone numbers/names of businesses in the texts. 96% of stronger candidates answered Question 8A correctly. However, half of the weaker candidates left this question bl
13、ank. Again, answering open questions would be a useful area for exam practice. Question 8B was the hardest question in the paper. This may have been because candidates did not read the rubric Look at Text E, and chose Friday evening because the words Friday and evenings are both in Text F. When prep
14、aring candidates, it would be useful to look at examples of rubrics in past papers and demonstrate how to highlight key information. Question 9A was quite hard for some of the weaker candidates who perhaps misread Monday to Friday as Monday and Friday. About one third of weaker candidates left Quest
15、ions 9A and 9B blank, possibly indicating that they thought this was a multiple-choice question and had not read the rubric. 93% of stronger candidates identified Clemencia correctly, whereas this question was more difficult for weaker candidates. Question 11 also proved challenging for weaker candi
16、dates with 41% leaving this question unanswered and 23% ticking son. In contrast, 82% of the stronger candidates answered this question correctly. Part 3 Four people write about their jobs in Part 3. Overall, the multiple-choice questions 1216 were answered well. Question 14, where candidates needed
17、 to identify who works in a station, was answered correctly by 100% of stronger candidates. Some candidates coped less well with the True/False questions in this part, often as a result of word-spotting. For example, with Question 17A, some candidates saw the words Abdulkarim and cousin in the text
18、and incorrectly ticked True. Similarly, for Question 17G, candidates found difficult in the text and matched this to hard in the question without reading the sentence carefully - missing My job isnt difficult. The proof-reading questions (Questions 18 and 19) were generally answered well: 85% of str
19、onger candidates identified singel as incorrect and 82% of stronger candidates ticked smoll as the misspelt word. The main problem for weaker candidates in Part 3 was time management with around 70% of weaker candidates leaving Questions 1719 unanswered. Recommendations for candidate preparation All
20、 Cambridge ESOL Skills for Life tests are based on the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum and cover all the Basic Skills Standards in each mode at each level. Therefore, by following the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum, teachers will be preparing their students for the tests. Candidates can benefit from followin
21、g the Dos and Donts: Do Do look through the whole paper at the beginning of the test to see how much you have to do and to focus on the scenario. Do answer all the questions, even if you are not always sure of the answer. Do leave yourself time to check your answers at the end. Do read all the intro
22、ductions to a text. This will help you to understand the situation. Do read all the instructions. They may not always be the same. Do cross out wrong answers clearly. Dont Dont worry about language you dont know. You may be able to answer the questions without that part of the text. Dont use your dictionary too much. You will not have time. Dont write full sentences for the answers or copy large chunks from the texts. Dont give more than one answer for each question. Dont always read the whole text. Look at the questions first and decide whether you need to read or re-read the whole text.
