Developing a reading proficiency scale for Chinese as a second language: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

There is a long history of operationalizing theoretical constructs of language proficiency by developing language proficiency scales. However, existing scales are not directly applicable in teaching and assessing Chinese as a second language (CSL) reading in US higher education contexts. Teachers need guidance regarding what component reading skills/knowledge should be taught and measured. This study developed a CSL Reading Proficiency Scale aligning to Koda's (2005) theoretical framework that models L2 reading as a three-factor construct. The scale development began with modeling the construct of CSL reading ability on the basis of literature review. Drawing on this process, an operational descriptive scheme and a descriptor pool were established and subjected to expert review of content validity. Descriptors that survived expert review were then compiled into a Likert-scale questionnaire. This instrument was tested through teachers' evaluations (N = 179) of whether CSL learners 'can do' what were denoted by descriptors. Confirmatory factor analysis exhibits solid goodness of fit between descriptors and the hypothesized three-factor model. The total score and the three subscale scores show high reliability. Evidence of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity indicates that the Scale measures CSL reading ability as intended. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY In this research, I developed a CSL Reading Proficiency Scale (the Scale) for college-level Chinese as a second language (CSL) teachers, addressing the limitations of existing scales. It is designed to measure CSL learners' reading ability and to provide CSL teachers with guidance regarding component CSL reading skills/knowledge that should be taught and measured. To develop this scale, I first reviewed previous studies on second language (L2) reading and Chinese linguistics to identify component skills/knowledge of CSL reading. Then, I collected descriptors of L2 reading ability from existing scales and created new descriptors to represent these component skills/knowledge. Four experts reviewed and improved descriptors in terms of clarity, brevity, accuracy, and content relevance etc. Fifty seven descriptors that survived the expert review were compiled into a questionnaire, which teachers used to evaluate students' reading ability. Based on the evaluation data, in addition to checking the structure of the Scale, I also examined the reliability and validity. Results show that the Scale measures CSL reading ability as intended and can yield consistent outcomes of students' reading ability.