Using Cloze Procedure as an Overall Language Proficiency Test

Teachers of English as a second language are beginning to recognize the value of overall language proficiency tests in their programs. One such test of global proficiency is the cloze test, a type of fill-in-the-blank test constructed by randomly deleting words from a prose passage, and replacing them with blanks. Cloze tests appear to be valid, reliable language proficiency tests that can easily be constructed and used by any ESL teacher (Aitken 1975; Stubbs and Tucker 1974; and Oiler 1973). The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines on the construction, administration, scoring, and interpretation of cloze tests, as well as to discuss a possible explanation of the cognitive processes involved in taking a doze test. It is hoped that this discussion of the cloze procedure will be comprehensive enough to allow ESL teachers to use the cloze procedure in their own classrooms.