TYPES OF TESTING SESSION
Brian Knight



Task 1
Compare your notes from the pre-session task against the table below:

Vocabulary
Grammar
Matching, e.g. definitions, word to picture Gap-fill, e.g. choose verb
Gap-fill Error correction
Cloze - open / multiple choice Transformation, e.g. active > passive
Dictation Subject-verb agreement
Orally - flash cards Text writing
Speak on a topic Cloze
  Orally, interview with focus
Listening (incl. Video)
Appropriacy
Where? - contextualise Determine / evaluate if acceptable
Cloze - predictions Text - multiple choice, informal vs formal
Comprehension - specific Writing, giving responses
Table Orally, responding in dialogues
Gap-fill  
Picture sequencing  
Testing stress / vocabulary / intonation  
Writing
Oral fluency
Paragraph punctuation Verb tenses - interview
Essay task - appropriacy, grammar Interact, initiate - role play
Sentences Monologue
Film summary Dialogue
Composition correction Picture prompts
Narrative, from pictures / listening Information gap
  Presentation

Task 2
Match the type of test to the definition.

Type of Test
Definition
Placement test Deals with how well students have learned one particular element. Can be used after one lesson or one unit of a book. It is short-term. Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and to see if students can move to the next stage.
Diagnostic test This tests what students are ready to do as a result of their cumulative learning experience. May serve as a basis for future attainment.
Achievement test A test of present ability, assessing students' knowledge and skills in a particular area to show up their strengths and weaknesses. Aim: to see what needs to be taught / retaught.
Progress test A test of students' present ability to help sort them into particular classes / courses.
Proficiency test To indicate individual students' facility for acquiring specific skills and knowledge.
Aptitude test Long-term, looking back over a period of work (e.g. a course, a term…). It should be a true indication of how much students have taken in to date. Standards are constant from test to test. It should reflect the content of the whole course.

Scroll down to the end of the page for the answers.

Task 3
Read the following and try to work out the missing words.

RELIABILITY:
The test should be the same every time it is taken. This includes the ____________ the test is taken in and ____________ of marking.

VALIDITY:
Is the test ____________ what it is supposed to? How much of what goes into the test?

PRACTICALITY:
A test should be as economical as possible in terms of ____________ and ____________.
Considerations include:
· Administration
· Time
· Ease of ____________
· Reproduction of test material.

BACKWASH / WASHBACK:
The effects a test has on ____________ done prior to the test.

COMPARISON:
The need to compare students' results to some outside / other measure.
For example, a mark of 85% seems good until it is realised that everyone else got ____________.
40% may seem ____________, but everyone else may have got 25%.

DISTRIBUTION:
The way marks are distributed depends on the type of test.
In a placement test a ____________ range of scores is expected if students of different abilities are tested.
In a progress test it could be possible to achieve a ____________ or near-____________ score, depending on what is being tested, as it tends to cover a limited range of work and is relatively short-term.
In an achievement test, which tests ____________ things over a ____________ time period, we would hope for groups of the same scores tending towards the higher ____________.

Scroll down to the end of the page for the answers.

Task 4
Discuss with your partner what you feel the following terms mean:

1. A discrete item test
2. An integrative test
3. An objective test
4. A subjective test
5. A norm-referenced test
6. A criterion-referenced test
7. Cloze

Task 2 Answers

Type of Test
Definition
Placement test A test of students' present ability to help sort them into particular classes / courses.
Diagnostic test A test of present ability, assessing students' knowledge and skills in a particular area to show up their strengths and weaknesses. Aim: to see what needs to be taught / retaught.
Achievement test Long-term, looking back over a period of work (e.g. a course, a term…). It should be a true indication of how much students have taken in to date. Standards are constant from test to test. It should reflect the content of the whole course.
Progress test

Deals with how well students have learned one particular element. Can be used after one lesson or one unit of a book. It is short-term. Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and to see if students can move to the next stage.
Proficiency test

This tests what students are ready to do as a result of their cumulative learning experience. May serve as a basis for future attainment.
Aptitude test

To indicate individual students' facility for acquiring specific skills and knowledge.

Task 3 Answers

RELIABILITY:
The test should be the same every time it is taken. This includes the circumstances / environment the test is taken in and consistency of marking.

VALIDITY:
Is the test measuring what it is supposed to? How much of what goes into the test?

PRACTICALITY:
A test should be as economical as possible in terms of time and cost.
Considerations include:
· Administration
· Time
· Ease of marking
· Reproduction of test material.

BACKWASH / WASHBACK:
The effects a test has on teaching done prior to the test.

COMPARISON:
The need to compare students' results to some outside / other measure.
For example, a mark of 85% seems good until it is realised that everyone else got 95%.
40% may seem bad, but everyone else may have got 25%.

DISTRIBUTION:
The way marks are distributed depends on the type of test.
In a placement test a wide range of scores is expected if students of different abilities are tested.
In a progress test it could be possible to achieve a perfect or near-perfect score, depending on what is being tested, as it tends to cover a limited range of work and is relatively short-term.
In an achievement test, which tests more things over a longer time period, we would hope for groups of the same scores tending towards the higher range.