Teaching of testing

Language Testing
a test
a method of measuring a person’s
skill/ability
knowledge
in a given area
What to test?
Skills
Speaking
Listening
Writing
Reading
Knowledge
Language
Grammar
morphology
syntax
Semantics
Lexis
Test types
Subjective
vs Objective
Summative vs
Formative
Criterion-referenced vs Norm-referenced
Progress
aptitude
diagnostic
Placement
Proficiency
Achievement
Pretest vs post-test
Direct vs indirect
Integrative vs discrete-point
Test types
When to test?
Summative vs
Formative
Pretest vs post-test
Placement
Aptitude
Progress
Achievement
How to score?
Objective vs Subjective
How real is the test situation?
Direct vs indirect
How and What are the students’ score compared?
Norm- referenced vs criterion-referenced
How much to test? One at a time or together
Discrete-point vs integrative
Characteristics
of a good test
Reliability
Consistency of scores across candidates, markers and time
Validity
Content validity
Construct validity
Concurrent validity
Predictive validity
Face validity
Is it testing what it is supposed to test
Practicability
Is the test easy and economical to administer?
Personnel
Administration
Cost
Time
Stages in testing
Determining purpose of test
Developing test specifications
Designing test
Piloting test
Item analysis
Fine-tuning test
Administrating test
Marking test
Analyzing test results
Reading as a receptive skill
Decoding process- searching for meaning
Printed text
Received by
Sent to
Testing of reading skills
What to test?
Reading aloud
Silent reading
Pronunciation
Stressed and intonation
Subskills
Reading levels
Identify main facts and details
Relate cause and effect
Identify sequence of events
Predict outcomes
Infer meaning from contextual clues
Literal comprehension
Reorganization
Inferential comprehension
Evaluation
Appreciation
Criteria for selection of reading texts
Language
Syntactical
complexity
Semantic
complexity
Lexical
complexity
Accessibility
Text
length
Authenticity
Exploitability
Ideas
Simplification
Adaptability
Complexity
Students’ schema
Language proficiency
Cultures
Experiences
Sources of reading texts
Journals
Theatres
Comics
Reports
Story books
Reference books
Internet
Textbooks
Traveling agencies
Restaurants
Manuals
Mass media
TV
radio
Magazine
Newspapers
Reading text types
(Genres)
Descriptive
Poem
Play
Table, graph and chart
Expository
Report
Narrative
Reading test question types
True/False
Rearrangement
Structured (controlled, guided)
MCQ
Open-ended
( subjective response, free writing)
Cloze procedure
Completion
(with options)
Filling in table/forms
Filling in blanks
Completion without options
Matching
Wh-question
Speaking as a productive skill
Encoding process- expressing ideas
Spoken text
Producing
Sent to
Testing of speaking skills
What to test?
Turn-taking
Language
Presentation skills
Organization
Pronunciation
Content/
ideas
fluency
Confidence
Style
Eye-contact
Format
Appropriacy
Accuracy
Clarity
Quantity
Quality
vocabulary
Sentence complexity
Syntax
Grammar
simple
compound
complex
Criteria in determining speaking contexts
Exploitability
Meaningful
Authenticity
Practical
Purposeful
Time
administration
scoring
Language
function
Language
form
Types of
speaking contexts
Dialogue/
conversation
Interview
Speeches/talks
Formal
informal
Discussion
Pair
Group
Strategies to make candidates talk
Problem-solving
Role-playing
Describing
a series of pictures
Talking on a given topic
Responding to a series of questions
Principles in testing speaking skills
Ensure scoring reliability_ inter-rater reliability
Ensure speaking contexts are as authentic as possible, especially in communicative testing
Put candidates at easy prior to the real test
Examiners to remain as non-intrusive as possible, especially in group discussion
Speaking contexts must give maximum opportunities for candidates to speak
Writing as a productive skill
Encoding process- expressing ideas
Producing
Sent to
Written/typed text