kinds of Tests and Testing

Presented By: Nada alQasimSupervised By: Dr.Hind alFadda

kinds of Tests and Testing

Tests

Purpose comparison

kinds of Tests and Testing

What does test mean?What do Language tests mean?

Proficiency Tests

Achievement Tests

Diagnostic tests

Placement test

Section No.1The purposes for which language testing is carried out.

Proficiency tests are designed to measure peoples ability in a language, regardless of any training they may have had in that language.

Proficiency Tests

The content

Examples

Proficiency Tests

Achievement Tests

Diagnostic tests

Placement test

Section No.1The purposes for which language testing is carried out.

Achievement tests are directly related to language courses

Measure how successful students are in achieving objectives of a lesson/course/curriculum

Closely related to the content of a particular lesson/course/ curriculum

Achievement Tests

There are two kinds of achievement tests.

Achievement Tests

• achievement tests are those administered at the end of a course of study.Final

• achievement tests are intended to measure the progress that students are making.

Progress

Proficiency Tests

Achievement Tests

Diagnostic tests

Placement test

Section No.1The purposes for which language testing is carried out.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic tests are used to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses.

Proficiency Tests

Achievement Tests

Diagnostic tests

Placement test

Section No.1The purposes for which language testing is carried out.

Placement Tests

Placement tests are intended to provide informationwhich will help to place students at the stage of the teaching program most appropriate to their abilities.

Typically they are used to assign students to classes atdifferent levels.

Group Activity

Direct/indirectDiscrete/integrative

Objective/subjectiveNorm/criterion

Computer

Section No.2

Direct versus Indirect Kinds of tests according to test construction

Testing is said to be direct when it requires the candidate to perform precisely the skill which we wish to measure.

For example, speaking.

Indirect testing attempts to measure the abilities which underlie the skills in which we are interested.

At first the old woman seemed unwilling to accept anything that was offered her by my friend and I.

Discrete point versus integrative testing Kinds of tests according to test format

Discrete point testing refers to the testing of one element at a time, item by item.

Integrative testing requires the candidate to combine many language elements in the completion of a task

Norm reference versus cretierion reference Kinds of tests according to Score interpretation

Norm-referenced test is a test which is designed to give information about how the student performed on the test. It relates one candidate’s performance to that of other candidates.

Criterion-referenced test is a test which is designed to provide information about what the candidate can actually do in the language directly.

Common European Framework ofReferences for Languages

Basic UserA1 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions andvery basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of aconcrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and canask and answer questions about personal details such aswhere he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/shehas. Can interact in a simple way provided the other persontalks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Common European Framework ofReferences for Languages

Proficient userC2Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken andwritten sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herselfspontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiatingfiner shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

Objective test versus Subjective test Kinds of tests according to scoring procedure

In objective test tasks , raters do not have to make a judgment because the scoring is unambiguous. For example: multiple choice test.

In subjective test tasks, raters have to make a judgment when assessing candidates' performance. For example: marking of an essay

Computer adaptive testing

Saves time and effortStart with average level of difficulty, lower/increase levels of difficulty according to test taker’s performanceNeeds a bank of items graded by difficulty

Group Activity