KINDS OF TESTS/TESTING

      

1.      Proficiency test:           measure people’s ability in a Lang regardless of the courses they’ve taken. ‘Proficient’ means having command of a Lang—for a particular purpose (e.g. translator, studying abroad, etc)/general proficiency (SAT)—depending upon difference in content and level of difficulty. Their backwash effect can be both -/+

2.      Achievement:   directly related to Lang courses—how successfully students have achieved the course objectives

Ø  Progress AT— measure progress in short term objectives and progress towards final achievement (midterms). Quizzes/informal class tests are additional tools. Teachers can make necessary changes at this level.

Ø   Final AT—taken at end of course by ministry of education, examining boards, or edn institutions.

ü“Syllabus-content approach”—final test based directly on the books used during the course. Disadvantage—poor selection of syllabus/books will give misleading results (e.g. course objectives require conversational abilities, but the books/course design makes them utter only prepared sentences)

üBase test content directly on objectives. Advantage—puts pressure on course designers to be more explicit about objectives + select relevant books/syllabus + accurate info about student’s progress in realistic objectives + positive backwash.

3.      Diagnostic:      identify student’s strengths/weaknesses (similar to proficiency test) and indicate what further studies are needed. They should be specific (test on nouns should include only nouns, not the whole grammar)—that way teachers/students know which area to work on.

4.      Placement:      places students on levels most appropriate for their abilities. These tests vary according to situations/key features (no one placement test will work for every institution)

5.      Direct/Indirect testing:                  Direct—requires candidate to perform skill that is wished to be measured. Advantages: straightforward requirements + assessment/interpretation of student’s performance + easy to construct + helpful backwash. Indirect—measure underlying abilities, e.g. test of pronunciation would require a candidate to identify rhyming words. Advantage—indirect testing is considered superior because it’s broader in apch. Disadvantage—result on direct objectives is weak and uncertain.

6.      Discrete point/Integrative:       Discrete point:  testing one element at a time (particular grammatical structure). Integrative:   combining many elements in completion of a task (notes while listening to a lecture)

7.      Norm-referenced/Criterion-referenced:      Norm-referenced:  performance of candidates is compared. No info is given about individual’s capabilities (e.g. CSS, ISSB). Criterion-referenced:  actual capability of student (e.g. SAT, GAT).  It doesn’t matter whether all candidates fail or pass.  Advantages—set meaningful standards + motivate students who fear being judged only through comparison with others (+ backwash)

8.      Objective/Subjective:     Objective:  no judgment made by examiner (e.g. MCQ). These are more reliable as there is more agreement between different examiners. Subjective:  judgment made by examiner (e.g. scoring of an essay).   

9.      Communicative:      measuring ability to use Lang for communication. Communicative abilities are mostly tested all over the world.