ACHIEVING BENEFICIAL BACKWASH

·         Test abilities whose development is encouraged/wanted:   test what is important to test, not what is easy to test (Content Validity—if oral skills are to be encouraged, then test only oral abilities) + give them more importance than other activities (if they are given very less marks in exams, students will ignore preparing it).

·         Sample widely/unpredictably:   when tests are predictable, students/teachers focus on only those areas. Test samples should include variety of specifications (of objectives).

·         Use direct testing:    content and results are more authentic in direct testing.

·         Make testing criterion-referenced:   students are motivated since only their abilities are measured instead of them being compared to others. Students taking a norm-referenced test already have a fair idea of their position and fear of failure in competition keeps them from improving.

·         Base achievement tests on objectives:    syllabus content apch vs. basing tests on objectives

·         Ensure test is understood by students:   clear/explicit instructions

·         Provide necessary assistance to teachers:   a phonetics teacher (objective marking) should be given guidance before he is made to mark a subjective paper like novel because he might not be acquainted with the latter. 

Practicality:     along with validity and reliability, it is desired that the test should be cheap to construct, administer, score and interpret. However, validity/reliability should not be sacrificed for the sake of practicality. Instead of lowering standards, concerned authorities should pre-plan about reasonable construction and administration of a valid and reliable test. Money allocated for comparatively less important issues could be directed towards this purpose.