چكيده لاتين :
The research on the nature of the underlying reading sub-skills is still unsettled. Nor is there any consensus over the divisibility of reading into a set of component skills. Improving construct validity of tests of L2 reading comprehension requires further investigation on the variables underlying reading ability and the possibility of operationalizing the underlying traits. To this end, a Test of Reading Sub-skills (TRS) was developed which operationalized the components of the Comprehensive Taxonomy of Reading Sub-skills (CTRS) derived from major taxonomies in the literature through a detailed comparative analysis of their proposed components. The TRS employed a wide variety of test methods in two general categories of the Expected Response Format, namely, יSelected Response5 and יConstructed Responseי. Data was collected on the performance of 1606 Iranian EFL learners including English majors and non-English majors, each subject randomly answering one of the eight forms of the TRS. Data were analyzed using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results showed that L2 reading ability is composed of a number of underlying latent traits or macro-skills. It is maintained that a componential approach to reading assessment and pedagogy should be informed by empirical evidence on the nature of variables underlying reading ability.
