Testing, Assessing and Teaching

Lorena Peña Florez

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TEST

Test It is a method of measuring a person’s ability , knowledge or performance in a given domain.Test : 1. Are a method 2. must measure3. Measures

performance4. Measures a given

domain.

A well-constructed test is an instrument that provides an accurate measure of test-taker´s ability with a particular domain.

METHOD

Set of techniques procedures or items

Explicit Structured

Multiple choice

questions with

prescribed correct

answers.

A writing prompt with

a scoring rubric

An Oral interview based on question scripts

A checklist of expected

responses to be filled by the administration

.

Must Measure

General ability

Example

Multi-skill proficiency test

Specific competences, objectives or knowledge

Example

Quiz on recognizing

correct use of definite articles

Measures Performance

Linguistic competenc

es

Speaking Writing Reading Listening

Knowledge about

language

VocabularyGrammar rulesIdentify a rhetorical feature in written discourse.

Measures a Specific Domain

Positive

Specific topics to measure the desired criterion

Negative

Including factors inadvertently

Assessment & Teaching

Tests Assessment They are prepared

administrative procedures They Occur at identifiable

times in a curriculum Learners muster all their

faculties Learners´responses are

being measured and evaluated.

They are subsets of assessment.

It is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain.

on each aspect about students the teacher makes assessment on students 'performance.

There are many procedures and tasks different from TEST to assess students.

A good teacher never ceases

to assess students whenever

those assessments

are INCIDENTAL or

INTENDED

Informal Assesment Incidental,

unplanned comments and

responses

Coaching

Impromptu feedback

Margianal comments on

papers

Responding to a draft of an

essay

Advicing about how to better

pronounce words

Suggestions

Formal Assesment

they are systematic planned sampling technique

s

It is constructed to give teacher

and students

an appraisal of student achievem

ent.

Formative Assessment

Evaluating SS in the process of forming their competence and skills.

Occurs every time

Delivery by teacher

Internalized by student

All kind of informal

assessment are formative

Focus on the ongoing

development of the learner´s language.

Summative Assessment It measures or

summarizes what a student has grasped.

Occurs at the end of a

course unit or instruction

The following 4 are

examples of summative

tests

1.General proficiency

exams2. Quizzes

3. Periodic review tests

4. mid-term exams

Learning

experiences ?

Tests become

Can

Norm-referenced & Criterion-referenced Tests

Norm-referenced Test criterion-referenced Test

Scores are interpreted in relation to a mean, media and SD and percentile rank.

The purpose is to place test-takers along a mathematical continuum in rank order.

Scores are reported back to the test-taker in form of numerical scores.

They are administered to large audiences.

The responses are already predetermined. Examples: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Test of English as a Foreign

Language (TOEFL)

They are designed to give test-takers feedback in the form of grades, on specific course or lesson objectives.

It is required much time and effort from the teacher (test-administrator).

Appropriate feedback. Instructional value

Oller(1979,p 52)Examples: Classroom tests involving the

students on only one class and connected to a curriculum.

Approaches to Language Testing 1950’s

– Behavio

rism Testing focused on

specific language elements

such as the phonologica

l, grammatical and lexical

contrasts between

two languages.

1970’s- 1980’s

Communicative

theories brought a

more integrative view of testing.

Today Continues

the challenge of more

authentic valid

instruments that simulate

real world interactio

n.

Discrete-point Testing Language can be broken into its component parts and those parts can be tested successfully.

evaluating certain points

Decontextualization

Oller(1979)• Language competence = unified set of

abilities that cannot be tested separately.

Integrative

Testing Integrative testing

Cloze test

Reading passages (150-300 words)

Those tests require a

number of abilities.

Knowledge of

vocabulary

Grammatical

structures Discourse structure

Reading skills

Strategies

Internalized

“expectancy

grammar ”

Dictations

Listening passages (100-150)

Oral reading without pauses

Oral reading with long pauses

between every

phrase

Reading at normal speed

Integrative Test

1. Careful listening

2. Reproduction in writing

3. Efficient short- term memory

4.Expectancy rules to aid short- term

memory

“UNITARY TRAIT

HYPOTHESIS”

Which suggested an

indivisible view of

language proficiency:

that vocabulary, grammar,

phonology, the “four skills “and other

discrete points of language could not be disentangled

from each other in

language performance.

Communicative Language Testing Language test performance

Language use Batchman and

Palmer(1996,p9)

Weird(1990,p6)

Integrative Test(cloze )

Tell about

Candidate´s linguistic

competence

Don’t tell about

Student´s performance

ability

Bachman (1990)

Proposed a model of language

competence

Organizational competence

Grammatical components

Illocutionary components

Pragmatic competence

Textual components

Sociolinguistic components

Strategic competence

Performance-based Assessment

Oral production

Written production

Open-ended

responses

Integrated performance

Interactive tasks

Time-consuming

Expensive

Ss are assessed as they perform

actual or simulated real- world tasks

Higher content validity is achieved

Current Issues in Classroom Testing

New Theories of Intelligence

Gardner (1983, 1999)

Spatial intelligence

Musical intelligence

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence

Intrapersonal intelligence

Robert Sternberg

(1988,1997)

Intelligence

Creative thinking

Manipulative strategies

Daniel Goleman’s

(1995)

EQ= emotional Quotient

Importance of emotions in

cognitive processing

Alternative Assessment Continuous long-term assessment Untimed, free-response format Contextualized communicative tasks Individualized feedback and washbackCriterion- referenced scoresOpen-ended, creative answers FormativeOriented to process Interactive performance Foster intrinsic motivation

Computer-based Testing Are also called computer- assisted or web-based tests-Are small scale “home-grown” testsAvailable on web-sites Standardized large scale tests Almost all Computer-based testing items have fixed, closed-ended responses

PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE

ASSESSMENT

PRACTICALITY RELIABILITY

Student- related reliability

Rater reliability

Test administration reliability

test reliability

VALIDITY

Content- related evidence

Criterion-related evidence

Constructed-related evidence

Consequential Validity

Face validity

AUTHENTICITY WASHBACK

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