Dudu Framework

There are 13 levels of difficulty (Level 0-12) for Dudu's eBooks. Each level corresponds to one year's experience of learning Chinese as a Second Language under the Ministry of Education Singapore curriculum. For example, Level 4 corresponds to a Primary 2 Chinese as a Second Language reader.

How does the Placement Test determine learners' reading ability?
The Placement Test is adaptive, and comprises a series of short tests that readers will have to answer in order for Dudu to determine their reading level.

The Placement test is built upon the Item Response Theory (IRT) statistical framework. The IRT framework provides a method for relating a reader's response to a question to his/her reading ability.

Reader will first input their age and school level, and rate themselves on how much they like the Chinese language and their perception of their own level of Chinese reading comprehension.

This allows Dudu to present an initial test with a suitable difficulty level for the reader.

Based on the reader's ability to answer the initial test, a subsequent simpler or more difficult test will be given.

This continues until Dudu is able to determine the reader's level of reading comprehension. On-level texts will then be recommended for the reader to read.

What is an on-level text?
On-level texts are passages that readers are expected to be able to read and comprehend 75% - 95% of the meaning. In Dudu, this means that readers should be able to accurately answer at least 75% of the quiz questions in each eBook.

The ARP provides on-level texts to readers, and monitors readers' reading progress over time. As the reader reads the on-level eBooks and answers the questions found in each eBook, the programme will recommend more difficult eBooks for the reader as his/her reading ability improves. This allow the reader to improve his/her Chinese reading ability more effectively.