Types of test and testing

1. Uzma Bashir
Types of Tests and Testing

2. 
Why do we need tests?

3. Test scores educational decisions
inference
Test scores performance/ true ability

4. Testing and Assessment
Tests are one form of assessment
Assessment: tests, projects,
observation of performance,
portfolios, etc.

5. Formative vs. summative assessment
Formative assessment:Formative assessment:
check progress of learning
Summative assessment:Summative assessment:
end of program check

6. Types of tests
Proficiency tests
Achievement tests
Diagnostic tests
Placement tests

7. Proficiency tests
Proficiency tests are designed to measure people’s
ability in a language regardless of any training they
may had in that language.
Measure general ability in a language
Regardless of previous training

8. Achievement tests
Measure how successful students are in achieving
objectives of a lesson/course/curriculum
Closely related to the content of a particular
lesson/course/ curriculum
Syllabus contentSyllabus content approachapproach OR course objectivescourse objectives
approach?approach?
Final achievement tests / progress achievement tests
(formative assessment)

9. Diagnostic tests
Identify students’ strengths and weaknesses
To benefit future instruction
Difficult to construct.

10. Placement tests
To assign students to classes/programs
appropriate to their level of proficiency.
Define characteristics of each level of proficiency

11. Direct vs. indirect testing
Direct testingDirect testing:
-Requires Ss to perform the skill to be measured
Indirect testingIndirect testing::
-Measures the abilities underlyingunderlying the skills to be
measured
-Ex. A writing test that requires Ss to identify
grammatical errors in sentences
Semi-direct testingSemi-direct testing::
-tape recorded speaking test

12. Problems
Direct testing:
-practicality (limited resources)
-small sample of tasks
Indirect testing:
-nature of the trait to be measured
-relationship b/w test performance and skills tested

13. Discrete point vs. integrative tests
Discrete point testsDiscrete point tests:
-Focus on oneone linguistic element at a time
-Assumption: language can be broken down into separate element
-tend to be indirect
Integrative testsIntegrative tests:
-Requires to students to combine manymany linguistic elements
-Unitary trait/competence hypothesis (Oller)Unitary trait/competence hypothesis (Oller)
-tend to be direct
-Ex. Composition, dictation, cloze tests, note-taking

14. Norm v.s. Criterion-referenced tests
Test type Criterion-Referenced Tests Norm-Referenced Tests
Purpose To classify students
according to whether they
have met the established
standards
To show how a student’s
performance compares to that
of other test-takers
Result Percentage; descriptive Percentile, grade equivalence
Features Comparison with a set
criterion. Direct info on
what the Ss can do. More
motivating. Cut-off score.
Not affected by other test-
takers’ performance.
Comparison with other test-
takers. Will be affected by
others’ performance.
Example

15. Criterion vs. Norm-referenced tests
Strengths and weaknesses?

16. Objective vs. subjective tests
Scoring of tests
Objective testsObjective tests:
-Requires no judgment from the scorer
-Ex. Multiple choice, T/F tests
Subjective testsSubjective tests:
-Requires judgment from the scorer
-Ex. Essay questions, composition
Different degreesdegrees ofof subjectivitysubjectivity

17. Communicative language testing
Communicative nature of tasks
Authenticity of tasks