A Systematic Review of Chinese Character Size Tests From 1930 to 2021

Chinese character size is the number of characters that a person can recognize and has been well documented as a critical measure of Chinese literacy. A variety of Chinese character size tests have been developed since the 1930s. However, systematic reviews have not yet been conducted on Chinese character size tests. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of Chinese character size tests conducted between 1930 and 2021 among native Chinese-speaking children and Chinese language learners. There are three main findings. First, most character size tests were constructed using a frequency-based stratified-sampling method to select target characters, a mixed method focusing on both pronunciation and meaning to test target characters, and a holistic method to score the test-takers’ responses. Second, the majority of tests used Classical Testing Theory (CTT) for checking the item quality, reliability, and validity, and only two tests employed both CTT and Item Response Theory. Third, most tests estimated character sizes using CTT, while only three tests constructed character size norms. It is suggested that future studies address cross-group investigation, determine the most robust construction and estimation methods, develop computer-assisted tests, and apply character size tests to classroom settings.