TESTING, ASSESSING and

TEACHING

Definition of a test

What
is a
test?

A test is a
method of
measuring a
persons
ability,
knowledge, or
performance
in a given
domain.

Components of a test
method
measure
Individuals ability, knowledge,
performance
Measures given domain

A test is a method.
It is an instrument a set of techniques,
procedures, or items that requires
performance on the part of the test-taker.
multiple-choice questions with prescribed
correct answers; a writing prompt with ;t
scoring rubric; an oral interview based on
a question script and a checklist of
expected responses

A test must measure.

Some tests
measure general
ability, while others
focus on very
specific
competencies or
objectives.

The way the results

or measurements
are communicated
may vary.

A test measures an individual's

ability, knowledge, or performance.
A test measures performance
the results imply the test-taker's
ability
to use a concept common in the field
of linguistics, competence. (example)
Most language tests measure one's
ability to perform language.

A test measures a given

domain.
In the case of a proficiency test, even
though the actual performance on
the test involves only a sampling of
skills, that domain is overall
proficiency in a language-general
competence in all skills of a
language.

Assessment and Teaching

Tests are prepared

administrative
procedures that
occur at
identifiable times in
a curriculum.

Assessment, on the
other hand, is an
ongoing process
that encompasses
a much wider
domain.

 A good teacher never ceases to

assess students, whether those
assessments are incidental or
intended.
Students must have the freedom to
experiment, to try out their own
hypotheses about language without
feeling that their overall competence
is being judged.

Informal Assessment

incidental
unplanned
comments and
responses
impromptu
feedback

 Informal assessmentsare not data

driven but rather content and
performance driven. http
://www.scholastic.com/

Formal assessment
Formal assessments are systematic, planned
sampling techniques constructed to give
teacher and student an appraisal of student
achievement.
It should be used to assess overall
achievement, to compare a student's
performance with others at their age or grade,
or to identify comparable strengths and
weaknesses with peers.
http://www.scholastic.com/

Formative assessment
Most of our classroom assessment is
formative assessment: evaluating
students in the process of "forming"
their competencies and skills with
the goal of helping them to continue
that growth process.

Summative assessment
Summative assessment aims to
measure, or summarize, what a
student has grasped, and typically
occurs at the end of a course or unit
of instruction.

Norm-referenced test
Each test-taker's score is interpreted
in relation to a mean (average
score), median (middle score),
standard t deviation (extent of
variance in scores),and/or percentile
rank. (Brown, 2004: 7)

 James Dean Brown (1996: 2)

A norm-referenced test (NRT) is
designed to measure global language
abilities (for instance, overall English
language proficiency, academic
listening ability, reading
comprehension, and so on).

Criterion-referenced test
Criterion-referenced tests, on the
other hand, are designed to give
test-takers feedback usually in the
form of grades, on specific course or
lesson objectives. (Brown, 2004: 7)

 James Dean Brown (1996: 2)

In contrast, a criterion-referenced
test (CRT) is usually produced to
measure well-defined and fairly
specific objectives. Often these
objectives are specific to a particular
course, program, school district, or
state.

APPROACHES
TO LANGUAGE
TESTING:
A BRIEF HISTORY

Discrete-Point
Discrete-point

tests are constructed on

the assumption that language can be
broken down into its component parts
and that those parts can be tested
successfully. Discrete point tests aim to
achieve a high reliability factor by
testing a large number of discrete items,
but each question tests only one
linguistic point.

Discrete-Point
Strength
The

test of this approach can cover a wide

range of scope of materials to be put in the
tests.
The test allows quantification on the students
responses.
In the term of scoring, the test is also reliable
because of its objectivity; the scoring is
efficient, even it can be perform by machine

Discrete-Point

Weaknesses

Constructing discrete point test items is

potentially energy and time consuming.
The test do not include social context where
verbal communication normally take place.
Success in doing the test is not readily
inferable to the ability of the test taker to
communicate in real life circumstances.

Integrative Testing
The

integrative-point approach
appeared as an unsatisfying reaction of
the discrete-point followers. Oller (1979)
argued that language competence is a
unified set of interacting abilities that
cannot be tested separately

Integrative Testing
Strength
The approach to meaning and the total
communicative effect of discourse will be
very useful for pupils in testing
This approach can view pupils
proficiency with a global view.
The strength of the test such as
dictation, writing, and cloze test is that
relatively cheap and easy to make

Integrative Testing
Weaknesses
Even

if measuring integrated skills are

better but sometimes teacher should
consider the importance of measuring
skills based on particular need, such as
writing only, speaking only
The scoring is not efficient and not
reliable

Communicative language
testing
Communicative

language testing is
intended to provide testers with info
about the testees ability to perform in
the target language in certain contextspecific tasks.

Communicative language
testing
Strength
The

tests are more realistic to evaluate

the students language use, as the
students in a role as though they were
to communicate in the real world / daily
lives.
It increases students motivation since
they can see the use of language they
learnt in class in the real world.

Communicative language
testing
Weaknesses
Not

efficient (time and energy

consuming)
Problem of extrapolation (Weir, 1990)
(we cannot guarantee that the students
who successfully accomplish the task in
class will also be successful in the
communication in real life)

Performace-Based test
A

performance test is a test in which the

ability of candidates to perform particular
tasks, usually associated with job or study
requirements, is assessed (Davies et al.,
1999, p. 144). In the assessment of second
languages, tasks are designed to measure
learners productive language skills through
performances which allow candidates to
demonstrate the kinds of language skills
that may be required in a real world context.

Performace-Based test

Strengths

Increasing learning motivation (The students tend to be more motivated

and involved when they are allowed to perform according to their own
plan, collect data, infer a pattern, draw conclusions, take stand, or
deliver a presentation.)
Meaningful (it is meaningful assessment since we require students to
show what they can do through project, performance, or observation. It
will give them learning experience more than just paper and pencil test)
Authentic (since the materials and topics we use in class is authentic,
the students can see the relation of what they learn with the reality in
their daily lives)
Chalange high order thinking of students (In order to prepare for the
best performance, the students will try their best to analyze the
problem deeper and find many learning sources by themselves )

Performace-Based test

Weaknesses

Time consuming (for students: they need to prepare the

performance e.g. Download information for the Internet or
preparing the costume and property for role play, for teacher:
Teachers need to provide guidance in every stage they are going
to be through. For example, in assessing the students to make
portofolio of essay, we need to check every single paper of the
students one by one every week, and when it has been revised,
we have to check it again.
Expensive (Students: the students should provide extra money to
prepare the performance such as costumes for role play)
Challage the teacher to match performance assessment to
classroom goals and learning objectives.

CURRENT ISSUES IN
CLASSROOM TESTING

Communicative
language
testing

Assessment
experts

Challenge

New
theories of
intelligenc
e

Performancebased
assessment

The advent of
alternative
assessment

Classroom
teachers

The
increasing
popularity of
computer
based testing

Effective
Assessm
ent

MOVING TRENDS AND MOVING

VIEWS

Old View
Gardner
(1983,
1999)
Sternber
g (1988,
1997)
Goleman
(1995)

Linguis
tic

LogicalMathemati
c

LogicalLinguis
Spatial
Mathem
tic
atic
BodilyInterpers
kinesth
onal
etic
Creativ
Manipulat
e
ive
thinkin
Strategy
g
EQ
(Emotiona
l
Quotient)

Musical

1 NEW VIEWS ON INTELLIGENCE

Intrapers
onal

This..
??

Objectivi
ty

Those..
??

Assess
what??

These..
??

Whole
language
Authenticity
skills
Learnin
Ability to
g
negotiat
process
e
es
meaning

TREND OF
ASSESSMENT

Triggered

Performance
-based
assessment

The
traditional,
moreobjective
assessment

The
alternative,
more
authentic
assessment

Moved the
trend

2 TRADITIONAL AND
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT

Armstrong (1994) and Bailey (1998)

drew the clear distinction between
traditional and alternative assessment
Traditional
Assessment
in
the table
below: Alternative Assessment
One-shot, standardized exams

Continuous long term

assessment

Timed, multiple-choice format

Untimed, free-response format

Decontextualized test items

Contextualized communicative
tasks

Scores suffice for feedback

Individualized feedback and

washback

Norm-referenced scores

Criterion-referenced scores

Focus on the right answer

Open-ended, creative answers

summative

formative

Oriented to product

Oriented to process

Non-interactive performance

Interactive performance

Foster extrinsic motivation

Foster intrinsic motivation

Notes to Armstrong and

Baileys categorization
It is difficult to draw a clear line of
distinction between traditional and
alternative assessment.
It is not always true that traditional
assessment is worse than alternative
assessment.

Som
e
famo
us
CBTs

TOEF
L
TOEI
C
IELTS
Small
scale,
home
grown
test

Large
scale,
standardiz
ed test

3 COMPUTER BASED
TESTING

Computer based test

requires test takers
perform responses on a
computer.
Test takers
receive
prompts

Test takers are

required to
response

The prompt can be in

spoken or written

They can
write or
speak the
response

Almost all responses

and items are fixed
and close ended

In a CAT, each test taker receives a set of

questions that meet the test specifications
and that are generally appropriate for his or
her performance level.
CAT starts from
moderate level
questions

test takers
answer the
question

the computer scores

the responses and
determine the next
questions

Correct

Incorre
ct

More difficult
questions

Lesser or
equal difficult
questions

Computer Adaptive Test

Some advantages of CBT

Classroom-testing
Self-directed testing on various aspects of
language (vocabs, grammar, discourse,
language skills, etc.)
Practice for upcoming high stakes standardized
test
Some individualization, in the case of CATs
Large scale standardized test can be
administered easily to thousand of test takers at
many different stations, then scored
electronically for rapid reporting of results

Some disadvantages of CBT

Lack of security and the possibility of cheating are inherent
in classroom-based, unsupervised computerized test
Occasional home-grown quizzes that appear on unofficial
websites may be mistaken for validated assessment
The multiple-choice format preferred for most computerbased test contains the usual potential for flawed item
design
Open ended responses are less likely to appear because of
the need for human scorers, with all the attendant issues of
cost, reliability and turn around time
The human interactive element (especially in oral
production) is absent

Lessons from this

chapter
Assessment is an integral part of the
teaching-learning cycle.
Tests are a subset of assessment and
may provide authenticity, motivation,
and feedback to the learner.
Tests are essential components of a
successful curriculum and one of
several partners in the learning
process.

Cont: Lessons from this chapter

Periodic assessments, both formal and informal, can increase
motivation by serving as milestones of student progress.
Appropriate assessments aid in the reinforcement and
retention of information.
Assessments can confirm areas of strength and pinpoint
areas needing further work.
Assessments can provide a sense of periodic closure to
modules within a curriculum.
Assessments can promote student autonomy by encouraging
students' self-evaluation of their progress.
Assessments can spur learners to set goals for themselves.
Assessments can aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness.