A cloze test is a reading exercise where words are removed from a passage and the reader fills in the blanks. It measures how well someone understands written text by testing whether they can predict missing words using context clues. The technique was introduced in 1953 by Wilson L. Taylor, a journalism researcher who named it after the Gestalt psychology principle of “closure,” the human tendency to mentally complete incomplete patterns.
How a Cloze Test Works
The basic structure is simple: take a passage of text, delete certain words at regular intervals, and replace each deleted word with a blank of uniform length. The reader then tries to fill in every blank with the word they think belongs there. A passage typically runs between 125 and 750 words, with an average around 375 words.
The most common format deletes every 12th word from the passage, though every 7th word is also widely used. The first and last sentences are usually left intact to give the reader enough context to get started. This systematic, fixed-interval deletion is what distinguishes a standard cloze test from a simple fill-in-the-blank worksheet, where a teacher picks specific words to remove. The fixed pattern ensures the test samples a range of word types (nouns, verbs, prepositions, articles) rather than targeting only vocabulary the teacher considers important.
Why It Measures Comprehension
Filling in a missing word sounds easy, but it requires more than vocabulary knowledge. To supply the right word, you need to understand the sentence’s grammar, follow the logic of the surrounding paragraph, and grasp the topic well enough to anticipate what comes next. In other words, you have to read the way a skilled reader naturally does: processing meaning across sentences rather than decoding one word at a time.
This is why cloze tests correlate strongly with standardized reading assessments. A large-scale study of nearly 3,000 Dutch secondary school students found that cloze tests matched, and sometimes outperformed, standardized reading ability tests in both reliability and validity. The format works because it taps into the same cognitive skill that underlies real reading comprehension: using context to construct meaning.
Scoring a Cloze Test
There are two main scoring methods. Exact-word scoring only accepts the precise word that was originally deleted. Acceptable-word scoring gives credit for synonyms or other words that fit the context grammatically and semantically. Research has found no significant difference in how the two methods rank test-takers, so exact-word scoring is often preferred simply because it’s faster and more objective. There’s no judgment call about whether a synonym is close enough.
The percentage of blanks a reader fills in correctly places them into one of three reading levels for that particular text:
- Above 60% correct: The reader comprehends the passage at an instructional level or better, meaning they can work with the material productively with some guidance.
- 50 to 60% correct: A borderline result. Comprehension can’t be confidently assessed in either direction.
- Below 50% correct: The passage is too difficult for the reader at an instructional level. They would likely struggle with or be frustrated by similar material.
These thresholds may seem low compared to a typical school test, but predicting exact deleted words is genuinely hard. A 60% score on a cloze test reflects strong comprehension.
Common Variations
The standard open-ended cloze test, where readers write in their own answers, is the original format. But several modifications make the task easier or better suited to specific situations.
A multiple-choice cloze gives readers four possible words for each blank. This is common in language proficiency exams because it’s easier to score at scale and reduces the disadvantage for test-takers who understand the passage but can’t recall the exact word. A word-bank cloze provides a list of all the deleted words (sometimes with extras as distractors) and asks the reader to match each word to the correct blank.
A maze test, often used with younger children, removes only specific types of words (such as nouns or main verbs) and provides two or three options for each blank. This narrows the task so it’s less overwhelming for early readers while still measuring whether they’re tracking meaning.
There’s also rational deletion, where a teacher deliberately chooses which words to remove rather than following a fixed interval. This lets the test focus on key concepts or vocabulary, but it shifts the assessment from general comprehension toward content knowledge.
Where Cloze Tests Are Used
Teachers use cloze tests to figure out whether a particular book or reading passage is at the right level for a student. Rather than relying on a general reading score from a standardized test, a cloze test built from the actual classroom material shows directly whether that student can handle that specific text. This makes it a practical tool for matching students to appropriate reading materials.
In second-language learning, cloze tests are one of the most widely used assessment formats. They test grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension simultaneously without requiring separate sections for each skill. Many English proficiency exams include a cloze or modified-cloze section for this reason.
Taylor’s original purpose for the cloze procedure was measuring readability, not student ability. By giving the same passage to a group of readers and averaging their scores, you get a measure of how difficult the text itself is. A passage where most readers score above 60% is more readable than one where most score below 50%. This approach measures readability based on actual reader performance rather than relying on word-length or sentence-length formulas.
How to Create a Cloze Test
Pick a passage that represents the material you want to assess. Leave the first one or two sentences completely intact so the reader can establish context before encountering any blanks. Starting from the second or third sentence, delete every 7th, 10th, or 12th word and replace it with a blank line of consistent length. Consistent length matters because longer blanks would hint at longer words. Leave the final sentence intact as well.
Have readers read the entire passage through once before they start writing in answers. This initial read-through helps them build a mental model of the topic, which is the foundation they’ll draw on to predict missing words. For younger students or language learners, providing a word bank or multiple-choice options turns the open recall task into a recognition task, which is less demanding but still informative about comprehension.