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6 views

Eng161 LecNotes2

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dustineaira
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Eng161 (Language Testing and Assessment)

TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS

Standardized Test and Teacher-Made Test

Standardized testing
➢ involves using testing instruments that are administered and scored in a pre-established
standard or consistent manner

2 Types of standardized testing instruments:

1. Norm-referenced Test (NRTs)


o Examples: Academic achievement tests, cognitive or IQ tests
o Compare an examinee’s performance to that of other examinees
o Include a manual and/or computerized scoring program that
a. Provides information regarding the normative, or standardization, sample;
b. Provides information on reliability and validity;
c. Provides language and presentation if items administration and scoring
information
d. Provides guidelines for the interpretation of test results

2. Criterion-referenced Test (CRTs)


o Compare an examinee’s performance to a pre-defined set of criteria or standard
o Determine whether or not the candidate has demonstrative mastery of a certain
skill or set of skills
o Results are usually “pass” or “fail” and are used in making decisions about job
entry, certification, or licensure

Dimension CRTs NRTs


-to determine whether each student -to rank each student with respect
has achieved specific skills or to the achievement of others in
Purpose concepts; broad areas of knowledge;

-to find out how much students know -to discriminate between high and
before instruction begins and after it low achievers
has finished

-measures specific skills which make -measures broad skill areas


up a designated curriculum. These sampled from a variety of
Content skills are identified by teachers and textbooks, syllabi, and the
curriculum experts. Each skill is judgments of curriculum experts
expressed as an instructional objective

-each skill is tested by at least four (4) -each skill is usually tested by less
items in order to obtain an adequate than 4 items
Item Characteristics sample of student performance and to
minimize the effect the effect of -items vary in difficulty
guessing;
-items are selected that
-the items which test any given skill are discriminate between high and low
parallel in difficulty achievers

-each individual is compared with a -each individual is compared with


preset standard for acceptable other examinees and assigned a
achievement. The performance of score—usually expressed as a
Score Interpretation other examinees is irrelevant percentile, a grade equivalent
score, or a stanine
-a student’s score is usually expressed
as a percentage -student achievement is reported
for broad skill areas, although some
-student achievement is reported for norm-referenced tests do report
individual skills student achievement for individual
skills

(Popham, 1975)
Eng161 (Language Testing and Assessment)

3 Common Alternative Assessments

1. Curriculum-based assessment – refers to a measurement method that relies on “direct


observation and recording of a student’s performance in the local curriculum as a basis
for gathering information to make instructional decisions”

2. Dynamic assessment – refers to a particular type of learning assessment that involves


the use of an active teaching process. The goal of this process is to “modify” an individual’s
cognitive functioning and to observe subsequent changes in the examinee’s learning and
use of problem-solving strategies

3. Alternative or Portfolio-based assessment – demonstrates what learning progress has


occurred over the years

Teacher Made-Test
➢ Informal test
➢ written or oral assessment that are not commercially produced or standardized
➢ Designed by a teacher to his/her students
➢ Can consist of a variety of formats such as fill-in-the blanks, multiple choice items, true-
false questions or essays

Steps in Constructing Teacher-made Tests:

1. Prepare a Table of Specification (TOS).


2. Make that the test is correlated to course objectives or learning standards and
benchmarks.
3. The test should consist various types of items.
4. Clear, concise, and complete directions should precede all types of tests.
5. There should only be one possible correct response for each item in the objective test.
6. The test items should be carefully worded to avoid ambiguity.
7. Majority of the test items should be in moderate difficulty; only very difficult and east items
should be included.
8. The items included should be arranged in a rising order of difficulty, that is from easiest to
the most difficult.
9. The regular sequence in the pattern of responses should be avoided.
10. The test should not be too short nor too long but it can be completed within the time allotted
by all or nearly all of the students.
11. Make the answer key that contains all acceptable answers.
12. Decide upon the values of scoring.

Language Testing Models

➢ Testing language has traditionally taken the form of testing knowledge about language,
usually the testing of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
➢ Dell Hymes (1970) proposed the concept of “communicative competence” or the ability to
use language appropriately, both receptively and productively, in real situations.

A. Canale and Swain’s Model of Communicative Competence


B. Bachman’s Model of Communicative Language Ability (CLA)
C. Celce-Murcia, Dornyei and Thurrell’s Model of Communicative Competence

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