DESIGNING CLASSROOM LANGUAGE TESTS

In this chapter, we will examine test types , and we will learn how to design tests and revise
existing ones. To start the process of designing tests, we will ask some criticalquestions.The
following five questions should form the basis of your approach to designing testsfor your
classroom.
Question 1:What is the purpose of the test?
Why am I creating this test?
For an evaluation of overall proficiency? (Proficiency Test)
To place students into a course? (Placement Test)
To measure achievement within a course? (Achievement Test)
Once you have established the major purpose of a test, you can determine its objectives
.
Question 2:What are the objectives of the test?
What specifically am I trying to find out?
What language abilities are to be assessed?
Question 3:How will the test specifications reflect both the purpose and objectives?
When a test is designed, the objectives should be incorporated into a structurethat
appropriately weights the various competencies being assessed.
Question 4:How will the test tasks be selected and the separate items arranged?
The tasks need to be practical
They should also achieve content validity by presenting tasks that mirror thoseof the course
being assessed.
They should be evaluated reliably by the teacher or scorer.
The tasks themselves should strive for authenticity, and the progression of tasksought to be
biased for best performance.
Question 5:What kind of scoring, grading, and/or feedback is expected?
Tests vary in the form and function of feedback, depending on their purpose
For every test, the way results are reported is an important consideration.
Under some circumstances a letter grade or a holistic score may beappropriate; other
circumstances may require that a teacher offer substantive washback to the learner

TEST TYPES
Defining your purpose will help you choose the right kind of test , and it will also helpyou
to focus on the specific objectives of the test.
Below are the test types to be examined:
1. Language Aptitude Tests
2. Proficiency Tests
3. Placement Tests
4. Diagnostic Tests
5. Achievement Tests

1. Language Aptitude Tests

They predict a persons success prior to exposure to the second language.

A language aptitude test is designed to measure capacity or general ability to learna
foreign language.
Language aptitude tests are ostensibly(grnte olan) designed to apply to
theclassroom learning of any language.
Two standardized aptitude tests have been used in the US. The Modern
Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), and the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery
(PLAB).
Tasks in MLAT includes: Number learning, phonetic script, spelling clues, words
insentences, and paired associates.
Theres no unequivocal evidence that language aptitudetests predict communicative
success in a language.
Any test that claims to predict success in learning a language is undoubtedly flawed
because we now know that with appropriate self-knowledge, and activestrategic
involvement in learning, virtually everyone can succeed eventually.

2. Proficiency Tests
A proficiency test is not limited to any one course, curriculum, or single skillinthe
language; rather, it tests overall ability.
It includes: standardized multiple choice items on grammar, vocabulary,reading
comprehension, and aural comprehension. Sometimes a sample of writing is
added, and more recent tests also include oral production.
Such tests often have content validity weaknesses.
Proficiency tests are almost always summative and norm-referenced.
They are usually not equipped to provide diagnostic feedback.
Their role is to accept or to deny someones passage into the next stage of a journey.
TOEFL is a typical standardized proficiency test.
Creating these tests and validating them with research is a time-consuming and
costly process. To choose one of a number of commercially available
proficiencytests is a far more practical method for classroom teachers.
3. Placement Tests
The ultimate objective of a placement test is to correctly place a student into a
course or level.
Certain proficient tests can act in the role of placement tests.
A placement test usually includes a sampling of the material to be covered in the
various courses in a curriculum.
In a placement test, a student should find the test material neither too easy nor too
difficult but appropriately challenging.
The English as a Second Language Placement Test (ESLPT) at San Francisco
StateUniversity has three parts. Part 1: students read a short article and then write

asummary essay. Part 2: students write a composition in response to an article.

Part3: multiple-choice; students read an essay and identify grammar errors in it.
The ESL is more authentic but less practical , because human evaluators
arerequired for the first two parts.
Reliability problems are also present but are mitigated(hafifletmek) by
conscientious training of all evaluators of the test.
What is lost in practicality and reliability is gained in the diagnostic information
that the ESLPT provides.

4. Diagnostic Tests
A diagnostic test is designed to diagnose specified aspects of a language.
A diagnostic test can help a student become aware of errors and encourage
theadoption of appropriate compensatory strategies.
A test of pronunciation, for example, might diagnose the phonological features
of English that are difficult for learners and should therefore become part of
acurriculum. Usually such tests offer a checklist of features for the administrator to
usein pinpointing difficulties.
Another example: a writing diagnostic would elicit a writing sample from
studentsthat would allow the teacher to identify those rhetorical and linguistic
features on which the course needed to focus special attention.
A typical diagnostic test of oral production was created by Clifford Prator(1972)
toaccompany a manual of English pronunciation. In the test;
a. Test-takers are directed to read a 150-word passage while they are taperecorded.
b. The test administrator then refers to an inventory of phonological items for
analyzing a learners production.
c. After multiple listenings, the administrator produces a checklist for errors infive
separate categories : Stress and rhythm, Intonation,Vowels, Consonants, and Other
factors.
This information can help teacher make decisions about aspects of English
phonology.
5. Achievement Tests
An achievement test is related directly to classroom lessons, units, or even a total
curriculum.
Achievement tests should be limited to particular material addressed in
acurriculum within a particular time frame and should be offered after a coursehas
focused on the objectives in question.
Theres a fine line of differences between a diagnostic test and an achievementtest.
a. Achievement tests analyze the extent to which students haveacquired language
features that have already been taught.
b. Diagnostic tests should elicit information on what students need to work on in
the future.

The primary role of an achievement test is to determine whether course objectives

have been met and appropriate knowledge and skills acquired bythe end of a
period of instruction.
Achievement tests are often summative because they are administered at the endof
a unit or term of study. But effective achievement tests can serve as useful washback
by showing the errors of students and helping them analyse theirweaknesses and
strengths.
Achievement tests range from five- or ten-minute quizzes to three-hour
finalexaminations, with an almost infinite variety of item types and formats

.
IMPORTANT:
New and innovative testing formats take a lot of effort to design and a long time torefine
through trial and error. Traditional testing techniques can, with a littlecreativity, conform to
the spirit of an interactive, communicative language curriculum.
Your best tack(yol, gidi) as a new teacher is to work within the guidelines of accepted,
known, traditional testing techniques.
Slowly, with experience, you can get bolder in your attempts.In that spirit, then, let us
consider some practical steps in constructing classroom tests:
A). Assessing Clear, Unambiguous Objectives
Before giving a test; examine the objectives for the unit youre testing. Your first task in
designing atest, then, is to determine appropriate objectives.
Students will recognize andproduce tag questions, with the correct grammatical form and
final intonationpattern, in simple social conversations. For more see the original book pg. 50
B). Drawing Up Test Specifications (Talimatlar)
Test specifications will simply comprisea)
a. broad outline of the test
b. what skills you will test
c.what the items will look like
This is an example for test specifications based on the objective stated above: Students
will recognize and produce tag questions, with the correct grammatical formand final
intonation pattern, in simple social conversations.
Test specifications:
Speaking (5 minutes per person, previous day)
Format: oral interview, T and S
Task: T asks questions to S
Listening (10 minutes)
Format: T makes audiotape in advance, with one other voice on it
Tasks: a. 5 minimal pair items, multiple choice
b. 5 interpretation items, multiple choice
Reading (10 minutes)
Format: cloze test items (10 total) in a story line
Tasks: fill in the blanks

Writing (10 minutes)

Format: prompt for a topic: why I liked/didnt like a recent TV sitcom
Task: writing a short opinion paragraph
These informal classroom-oriented specifications give you an indication of
the topics(objectives) you will recover
the implied elicitation and response formats for items
the number of items in each section
the time to be allocated for each
C). Devising Test Tasks
As you devise your test items, consider such factors as:
how students will perceive them(face validity)
the extent to which authentic language and contexts are present.
potential difficulty caused by cultural schemata
In revising your draft, you should ask yourself some important questions:
1. Are the directions to each section absolutely clear?
2. Is there an example item for each section?
3. Does each item measure a specified objective?
4. Is each item stated in clear, simple language?
5. Does each multiple choice have appropriate distractors; that is, are the wrong itemsclearly
wrong and yet sufficiently alluring that they arent ridiculously easy?
6. Is the difficulty of ea ch item appropriate for your students?
7. Is the language of each item sufficiently authentic?
8. Do the sum of the items and the test as a whole adequately reflect the learning objectives?

In the final revision of your test,

imagine that you are a student taking the test.

go through each set of directions and all items slowly and deliberately. Time
yourself.
if the test should be shortened or lengthened, make the necessary adjustments.
make sure your test is neat and uncluttered on the page, reflecting all the careand
precision you have put into its construction.

if there is an audio component, make sure that the script is clear, that yourvoice and
any other voices are clear, and that the equipment is in working order before starting
the test.

D). Designing Multiple-Choice Test Items

Therere a number of weaknesses in multiple-choice items:
The technique tests only recognition knowledge.
Guessing may have a considerable effect on test scores.
The technique severely restricts what can be tested.
It is very difficult to write successful items.
Washback may be harmful.
Cheating may be facilitated.

However,
The two principles that stand out in suprt of multiple-choice formats are, of course,
practicality and reliability.
Some important jargons in Multiple-Choice Items:
Multiple-choice items are all receptive, or selective, that is, the test-taker chooses
from a set of responses rather than creating a response. Otherreceptive item types
include true-false questions and matching lists.
Every multiple-choice item has a stem, which presents several options (usually
between three and five) or alternatives to choosefrom.
One of those options, is the correct response, whilethe others serve as distractors
.
IMPORTANT!!!
Consider the following four guidelines for designing multiple-choice items for
bothclassroom-based and large-scale situations:
1. Design each item to measure a specific objective.
2. State both stem and options as simply and directly as possible. Do not use superfluous
words, and another rule of succinctness is toremove needless redundancy from your
options.
3. Make certain that the intended answer is clearly the only correct one. Eliminating
unintended possible answers is often the most difficult problem of designingmultiplechoice items. With only a minimum of context in each stem, a wide of responses may be
perceived as correct
4. Use item indices (indeksler) to accept, discard, or revise items: The appropriateselection
and arrangement of suitable multiple-choice items on a test can best beaccomplished by
measuring items against three indices:
a) item facility (IF), or itemdifficulty
b) item discrimination (ID), or item differentiation, and
c) distractoranalysis

a) Item facility (IF)

is the extent to which an item is easy or difficult for the proposed group of test-takers
Note:
Two good reasons for occasionally including a very easy item (%85 or higher) are tobuild in
some affective feelings of success among lower-ability students and to serveas warm-up
items. And very difficult items can provide a challenge to the highest-ability students.
b) Item discrimination (ID)
is the extent to which an item differentiates betweenhigh- and low-ability test-takers.
An item on which high-ability students and low-ability students score equally
wellwould have poor ID because it did not discriminate between the two groups.
An item that garners(toplamak) correct responses from most of the high-abilitygroup
and incorrect responses from most of the low-ability group has gooddiscrimination
power.
Item #
Correct
Incorrect
High-ability students (top 10) 7 3
Low-ability students (bottom10) 2 8
ID: 7-2=5/ 10= 0,50 The result tells us that us that the item has a moderate level of ID.
High discriminating level would approach 1.0 and no discriminating power at allwould be
zero.
In most cases, you would want to discard an item that scored near zero.
As with IF, no absolute rule governs the establishment of acceptable andunacceptable
ID indices.
c) Distractor efficiency (DE) is the extent to which
the distractors lure a sufficient number of test-takers, especially lower-abilityones
, and
those responses are somewhat evenly distributed across all distractors.
Example:
Choices A B C* D E
High-ability students (10) 0 1 7 0 2
Low-ability students (10) 3 5 2 0 0
*Note: C is the correct response.The item might be improved in two ways:
a). Distractor D doesnt fool anyone. Therefore it probably has no utility. Arevision might
provide a distractor that actually attracts a response ortwo.
b). Distractor E attracts more responses (2) from the high-ability group thanthe low-ability
group (0). Why are good students choosing this one?Perhaps it includes a subtle reference

that entices the high group but is over the head of the low group, and therefore the latter
students donteven consider it.
The other two distractor (A and B) seem to be fulfilling their function of attracting some
attention from the lower-ability students.
administering the test
you have designed your test based on your carefully considered purposes, objectives, and
specs. so consider some of the measures you can take to ensure that the actual administration
of the test accomplishes everything you want it to. here's a list of pointers:
pre-test considerations (the day before the in-class essay)
1. provide appropriate pre-test information.
2. offer a review of components of narrative and description essays.
3. give students a chance to ask any questions, and provide responses.
test administration details:
4. arrive early and see to it that the classroom conditions are conducive.
5. if audio or video or other technology is needed for administration, try everything out in
advance.
6. have extra paper, writing instruments on hand.
7. strat on time.
8. distribute the test itself.
9. remain quietly seated at the teacher's desk.
10. for a timed test, warn students when time is about to run out, and encourage their
completion of their work.
this is not exhaustive list, an it does not cover all possible testing situation but it should be
serve as a starting point for you as you attempt to cover all the details involved in an
administration.
SCORING, GRADING AND GIVING FEEDBACK
A). Scoring
As you design a classroom test, you must consider how the test will be scored andgraded.
Your scoring plan reflects the relative weight that you place on each sectionand items in
each section.
B) Grading
Grading doesnt mean just giving A for 90-100, and a B for 80-89. Its not thatsimple.
How you assign letter grades to a test is a product of
the country, culture, and context of the English classroom,
institutional expectations (most of them unwritten),
explicit and implicit definitions of grades that you have set forth,
the relationship you have established with the class, and
student expectations that have been engendered(cause) in previous tests andquizzes
in the class.

C) Giving FeedbackFeedback
should become beneficial washback. Those are some examples of feedback:
1.a letter grade
2.a total score
3.four subscores (speaking, listening, reading, writing)
4.for the listening and reading sectionsa. an indication of
correct/incorrect responsesb. marginal comments
5.for the oral interview
a. scores for each element being rated
b.a checklist of areas needing work
c. oral feedback after the interview
d.a post-interview conference to go over the results
6. on the essay
a. scores for each element being rated
b.a checklist of areas needing work
c. marginal and end-of-essay comments, suggestions
d.a post-test conference to go over work
e.a self-assessment
7.on all or selected parts of the test, peer checking of results
8.a whole-class discussion of results of the test
9.individual conferences with each student to review the whole test
Options 1 and 2 give virtually no feedback. The feedback they present does
notbecome washback.
Option 3 gives a student a chance to see the relative strength of each skill area andso
becomes minimally useful.
Options 4, 5, and 6 represent the kind of response a teacher can give thatapproaches
maximum feedback.