TESTING AND EVALUATION

What is test?

A yardstick a teacher uses to measure the performance of a student. Formal and informal tests Tests serve many of the needs of teaching. Teaching and testing are closely related Tests focus on assessing the products of lerning Teaching concentrates on enabling students to succeed in the process of learning. Tests try to assess a students previous learning; teaching prepares him for current and future learning. Teaching influences testing or testing influences teaching ? backwash effect. What is taught should be decided by reference to how important the skill is to a child's present and future life. We should not teach a student only for those things that would help them to pass examination.

Testing vs. teaching

Types of Tests and their purposes

type purpose Tests that are given during the course to monitor progress To discover specific areas of difficulty To test what has been taught in a course To group students according to overall entry level proficiency To test what has been taught at the end of the course

Formative Diagnostic Summative Placement Achievement

Proficiency
Norm reference

To assess students future performance in a specific area of learning

The results are interpreted according to the norms

Criterion reference
Discrete point Integrative

The results are interpreted according to specific critria

Testing only one point at a time Seek to test global proficiency

Characteristics of a good test

Validity
When

it tests what it claims to be testing

Looks like a good one to learners Accurately reflect the syllabus it is based in Accurately predict future performance

Face Content

Predictive

Concurrent

Gives similar results to already validated tests or other immediate external criteria
Reflects loosely a valid theory of foreign language learning that it takes to model

Construct

Reliability
The

precision with which the test measures what the tester wants to know. A reliable test must produce same results on the same sample of students whenever the test is administered and whoever administer and score it. Inter-rater reliability when there are several markers marking the test scripts. To minimize use performance band Intra-rater reliability unreliability in the marks awarder by same marker.

Practicality
Whether

or not the test is able to conduct in practice.

Types of test items

Close-ended
How

and open-ended test items

much freedom the testee has in deciding on the scope and quality of the answer. Close-ended has predetermined answers, e.g. objective and structural test Open-ended essay test, oral interview, reading and listening comprehension

 Subjective
The

and objective tests

differences is in the method of scoring Subjective

Each examiner uses his own judgement in evaluating performance and awarding marks. All items have a predetermined or sets of answers

Objective

Refer to page 334 for more comparison

Test procedures
Identifying

purposes of testing Writing test specification Test construction Test administration Scoring procedure Reporting procedure

Designing and constructing a monthly or end-of-year test

Common test formats

Multiple-choice

tests Clozentropy or cloze procedure Dictation

Test interpretation
Obtaining

a profile of student performance Finding out how well the test worked.