Module 6 Testing & Assessment
Part 1
ELT Methodology III
Outline
Definition Reasons for testing Types of tests Alternatives to testing Qualities of a good test
What is a test?
What is a test?
TestA performance or series of performances, simulating/ representing or sampled from the criterion
Observable
Eg.: Listening to a lecture in a test
CriterionA series of performances subsequent to the test; the target
Unobservable
How a person would cope with listening to lectures in the course he/ she is aiming to enter
Inferences
about
What is a test?
A test, in plain words, is a method of
measuring a person’s ability or
knowledge in a given domain.
Why Do We Need Tests?
Work in groups. Discuss the purposes of testing.
(5 mins)
Why Do We Need Tests?
Provide opportunities for learning
Students Professionals
-Knowledge gained from test
preparation (w/ T, or by themselves)
-While taking tests: Opportunities for
developing what they know and what
they can do
-After the tests: feedback from their
own reflection & from professionals
-Increased motivation
-What Ss know & do not know abt L2
-What Ss can & cannot do in L2,
what they likely to be able to do
-Ss’ progress
-Teaching effects on Ss
-What Ss need to learn
-What can be done to help Ss
-Compare w/ other Ss
Why Do We Need Tests?
Diagnosis/ Evaluation
Motivation
Teaching tool
Official assessment
TYPES OF TEST AND TESTING
According to testing methods:
Test items
True/ False/ NG
Gap-fill (no choice given)
Listening and ordering pictures
Multiple choice questions
Jumbled sentences
Composition writing
Underlining mistakes
Speaking on a topic
TYPES OF TEST AND TESTING
According to test- scoring procedure:
• According to the interpretation made from the test scores
NORM- REFERENCED TEST (NRT):
a student's performance on an NRT is interpreted in relation to the performance of a large group (choosing candidates for a gifted program)
CRITERION REFERENCED TEST (CRT):
CRTs give detailed information about how well a student has performed on each of the educational goals or outcomes included on that test
OBJECTIVE: True/ False; Correct/ Incorrect
SUBJECTIVE: Basing on teacher’s judgment
TYPES OF TEST AND TESTING
DIRECT & INDIRECT
DISCRETE POINT& INTEGRATIVE
RECOGNITION &PRODUCTION
According to construction approach:
TYPES OF TESTS AND TESTING
Types of Tests Purposes Examples
Proficiency tests measure people’s language ability, regardless of any training they have had; based on a specification of what candidates have to be able to do <= ‘proficient’
TOEFL, IELTS, CAE
Achievement tests
directly related to language courses, to measure how successful Ss/courses have been in achieving objectives
End-of-term testsFinal tests
Placement tests to provide info that helps place Ss at a stage of the teaching program most appropriate to their abilities
A test by Language Link for new students enrolling in their courses
Diagnostic tests to identify Ss’ strengths & weaknesses 15-min (surprise) mini-tests by a teacher for her class
According to the purpose:
Alternatives to Testing
Continuous assessment
Port-folio
Self-assessment
Teacher’s assessment
=> How can teachers use these at (Secondary/High)
schools?
Qualities of a good test
Reliability
Validity
Practicality
Reliability
A test should measure precisely
whatever it is supposed to measure
1 test on two occasions
Result 1 = Result 2
Which is the more reliable rifleman?
Reliability
Reliability and Size:
Size of test items
Size of sample (pilot audience)
Reliability and Test Item Level of Difficulty
1/3 – 2/3 students get the correct answers
1/3 students 1/3 students 1/3 students
< 45% test 45%- 60% test 60%- 100% test
Reliability
Reliability and marking
Reliability and syllabus
Validity
Are we actually measuring what we are
intending to measure?
He went to the supermarket to buy an air-
conditioner and had it installed in his room.
Question: What can an air- conditioner do?
A. Make a room nicer
B. Stop the noise from entering a room
C. Change the temperature in a room
D. Light up a room
It’s so hot in the room that he decides to have an air- conditioner installed.
Question: What can an air- conditioner do?
A. Make a room nicer
B. Stop the noise from entering a room
C. Change the temperature in a room
D. Light up a room
Validity
Types of validity
Face validity
Content validity
Response validity
Statistical validity
Question 6, p. 38: Match the types of validity with their correct definition
Validity- Qualities of a good test
Face validity(non-expert judgement)
The test is what students and parents want, and it looks familiar to them
Content validity(professional judgement)
Other teachers agree that the methodology used in the test and the language items tested are the right level and approach for their students.
Response validity
The test layout and instructions are clear so students’ wrong answers are because of their lack of ability in English, not because the answer sheet was badly designed and made them put the tick in the wrong box, for example.
Statistical validity The same students who got high, average and low marks on this test will get high, average and low marks on another test.
Practicality (Administrative)
A test must be carefully organized
well in advance When?
How long?
Equipments?
Marking?
“Washback” (backwash)
What? => The effect of testing on the teaching and learning processes
Harmful or beneficial? Testing Teaching & Learning(regarded as important, (dominated by the test, ignores Ss’ language needs for the test’s sake) not widely & unpredictably-designed
Testing Teaching & Learning(based on Ss’ language needs, (teaching & learning changed accordingly,tests the abilities desired, syllabus redesigned, wide-scoped, unpredictable, new books selected, etc)understandable)
How to achieve a positive washback?
Test what you want Ss to develop Sample widely & unpredictably Ensure the test is known & understood
by Ss & Ts => (increase test reliability)
Review questions
What are the three main qualities of a good
language test?
If a language test is unreliable, what will
happen to students’ marks the second time
they take the same test?
Review
Complete the following passage:
A reliable test contains ……………. of test items of
…………… difficulty, based on ………….. within the
textbook, not ………….. such a test will have been
piloted ……………… and can be marked
………………
Review
Complete the following passage:
A reliable test contains a large number of test items
of different levels of difficulty, based on the syllabus
within the textbook, not the book itself. Such a test
will have been piloted across the whole country
(widely) and can be marked clerically.
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