What makes a good test? Flashcards
Characteristics of a good test (11)
1) Reliable
2) Valid
3) Causing no negative effects
4) Showing the effectiveness of the teaching/learning items
5) Giving the students a sense of self-accomplishment
6) Putting stress on what students are able to do
7) Reflecting students actual level
8) Clear and direct instructions
9) Varied
10) Time = Length
11) Need students’ feedback
Don’t forget… (8)
1) Assessing students’ performance
2) Form a positive attitude on the students towards tests
3) Sometimes not reflecting reality in your class
4) Not the only resource you have to see students’ progress
5) Prepare a portfolio of each student collecting writings and homework
6) Help students become aware of their strengths and weaknesses
7) Encourage them to keep a sort of diary with all their doubts and problems
8) Written and oral tests can be discouraging and cause loads of anxiety
Validity Definition
Teach what is in the program (No more / No less)
Validity Types
1) Content
2) Construct
3) Face
Content validity
1) Does a test test what it is supposed to test?
2) Choose a selection of things to test what we think are representative of students’ ability in knowing language
Construct validity
1) Establish what is valid (Is it wrong or right?)
2) Used to determine how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure
Face validity
1) Transparency or relevance of a test as it appears to test participants
2) A test can be said to have face validity if it looks like it is going to measure what it is supposed to measure
Reliability Definition
Its marking should be consistent, coherent, and objective
Reliability Types
1) Test
2) Scorer
Test Reliability
If it was possible to give the same person the same test at the same time, would the result be the same?
Suggestions for test reliability
1) Make tests varied
2) Make tests familiar
3) Make instructions clear and at the appropriate level of language
4) Restrict the task
Scorer reliability
If you gave the same test to two different people to mark, would they give the same score?
Suggestions for scorer reliability
1) Multiple choice test is the most objective
2) Answer key or marking guide for an objective test
Practicality
How practical a test is to administer
Factors of Practicality
1) Time
2) Personnel
3) Space and equipment
4) Money
Backwash
Effect that has a final test on the teaching programme that leads to it
Form of evaluation
1) Norm-referenced testing
2) Criterion-referenced testing
3) Direct test items
4) Indirect test items
5) Discrete point testing
6) Integrative testing
Norm-referenced testing purposes
1) Classify students
2) Highlight achievement differences between and among students to produce a dependable rank order of students across a continuum of achievement from high achievers to low achievers
3) Place students in remedial or gifted programs
4) Select students from different ability levels
Norm-referenced testing ways in which content is selected
A representative group of students is given the test prior to its availability to the public.
Criterion-referenced testing purpose
1) Determine what test takers can do and what they know, no how they compare to others
2) Report how well students are doing relative to a predetermined performance level on a specified set of educational goals or outcomes included in the school, district, or state curriculum.
Direct test items definition
When the learner’s response involves actually performing the communicative skill or language recognition/production task that is being assessed
Direct test items characteristics
1) Associated with the productive skills
2) There is an observable output that can be heard/seen.
Indirect test items
1) Measure student knowledge and ability by getting at what lies beneath their receptive and productive skills
2) The design of procedures designed to tap into the enabling skills underpinning the macro skills results in indirect assessment devices of the skill in question
Example of Indirect testing
Structure and Written Expression section in the TOEFL
Discrete point testing definition
Assumes that language knowledge can be divided into a number of independent facts: elements of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, pronunciation, intonation, and stress
Discrete point testing resources
Tested by pure items (multiple choice / fill in the blanks)
Integrative testing definition
Argues that any realistic language use requires that coordination of many kids of knowledge in one linguistic event, and so uses items which combine those kinds of knowledge, like comprehension tasks, dictation, speaking and listening.
Integrative testing risks
Ignoring the systematic relationship between language elements and accuracy of linguistic detail
Integrative testing resources
Tested by exams of open-ended questions
Types of tests
1) Proficiency
2) Achievement
3) Diagnostic
4) Placement
Proficiency tests
Designed to measure people’s ability in a language regardless of any formal training they may had in that language
Achievement tests
Progress / Final
Directly linked to language courses. Their purpose is to establish how successful students have been in achieving course objectives
Diagnostic tests
Used to identify students strengths and weaknesses
Placement tests
Provide information which help to place students in a certain stage in a language program
Hybrid approach to test design
Make balance exams based on the topics that you are studying
Language operation in naturalistic contexts
Lexical, grammatical, sociolinguistic as well as discourse features have to be tested as they would operate in naturalistic contexts
Occurrence of natural language
Natural language occurs in discourse and in extralinguistic situational contexts, so test that embed these second language features should be given.
Motivation of students | Materials
Students are more motivated if the materials seem relevant to their communicative needs
Students should be concerned that…
Their instruments enable them to analyze students performance in terms of course objectives
Convergent items
One right answer required
Open-ended
Many possible answers
Dichotomy of testing items
1) Sequences of single sentences or phrases unrelated to one another
2) Sequential, naturalistic disclosure
