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Language Assessment

Language Assessment. Chap. 3 Designing Classroom Language Tests. Designing Classroom Language Tests. Critical questions: (1) the purpose (2) the objectives (3) the test specifications (4) five principles (5) scoring and feedback. Test Types. Language Aptitude Tests

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Language Assessment

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  1. Language Assessment Chap. 3 Designing Classroom Language Tests

  2. Designing Classroom Language Tests • Critical questions: • (1) the purpose • (2) the objectives • (3) the test specifications • (4) five principles • (5) scoring and feedback

  3. Test Types • Language Aptitude Tests • A LAT measures capacity or general ability to learn a foreign language and ultimate success in that undertaking. • Two English language tests: MLAT & PLAB • Proficiency Tests • A PT tests overall ability.

  4. Proficiency Tests • PT are almost always summative and norm-referenced and do not provide diagnostic feedback. • TOEFL consists of sections on LC, structure, RC, and WE (to include OP in 2005).

  5. Placement Tests • The test items shouldn’t be too easy or too difficulty but appropriately challenging. • Placement tests come in many varieties, depending on the nature of a program and its needs. • Varieties are such as comprehension and production, written and oral performance, open-ended and limited responses, multiple-choice and gap-filling formats.

  6. Placement Tests • The objective of a placement test is to correctly place a student into a course or level. • Other benefits include face validity, diagnostic information on students’ performance, and authenticity. • Example: a summer program in English conversation and writing at San Francisco S. U.

  7. Diagnostic Tests • A diagnostic test is designed to diagnose specified aspects of a language. (p. 47) • Usually, such tests offer a checklist of features for the teacher to use in pinpointing difficulties. • A placement test may also serve diagnostic purposes. • Difference between placement/achievement tests

  8. Diagnostic Tests • Achievement tests analyze the extent to which students have acquired language features and have already been taught. • Diagnostic tests should elicit information on what students need to work on in the future. They can help a student become aware of errors and adopt appropriate compensatory strategies.

  9. Achievement Tests • An AT is related directly to classroom lessons, units, or even a total curriculum. • The primary purpose of an AT is to determine whether course objectives have been met—and appropriate knowledge and skills acquired—by the end of a period of instruction. (p.48)

  10. Test Construction • The first task in designing a test is to determine appropriate objectives. • Example: “Students will learn tag questions” (not testable)=> written/oral, understand/produce • Selected objectives are on page 50. • Test specifications for classroom use comprise (a) a broad outline of the test (b) what skills you will test (c) what the items will look like.

  11. Test Construction • Example: a 30 minute test, including 4 skills.(a, b) • Item types and tasks: (p. 51, 52)

  12. Devising Test Tasks • Important questions: • (1) clear directions (2) example item (3) specified objective (4) clear and simple language (5) appropriate distractors (6) the difficulty of each item (7) authentic language (8) learning objectives

  13. Multiple-Choice Test Items • Weaknesses of multiple-choice items: • (1) only recognition knowledge • (2) guessing • (3) restricting what can be tested • (4) uneasy to write successful items • (5) harmful washback • (6) cheating

  14. Multiple-Choice Test Items • Advantages in support of M-C test items • (1) conform to practicality and reliability • (2) offer an easy and consistent process of • scoring and grading • (3) Save time and have predetermined • correct responses

  15. Multiple-Choice Test Items • Four guidelines: • 1. Design each item to measure a specific • objective. • 2. State both stem and options as simply and • directly as possible. • 3. Make certain that the intended answer is • clearly the only correct one. • 4. Use item indices to accept, discard, or revise items.

  16. Three Item Indices • Three item indices: • Item facility (item difficulty) • Item discrimination • Distractor efficiency • Scoring, grading, and giving feedback • Example: In an integrated-skills test, oral interview is 40%; reading, listening, and writing are 20% each. (assign more weight on speaking)

  17. Grading & Giving Feedback • A: 90----100 points • B: 80----89 points • C: 70----79 points • Giving feedback (beneficial) • Letter grade/total score=> no feedback (p. 63) • Washback is achieved when students can identify their areas of success and challenge.

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