ULACIT

11-7003 LEARNING
ASSESSMENT
Professor: MSc. Giselle Herrera Gmez

WHAT IS TESTING?
Definition: A test is an activity whose main purpose is to convey (usually to the tester) how well the testee knows or can do something. This is in contrast to practice, whose main purpose is sheer learning. (Ur 1996:33)
testing

assessment
evaluation

HISTORICAL TRENDS
The earliest known standardized tests (which included both practical and written components) are the Chinese Imperial Examinations
Lasted 1300 years (605 to 1905) Europe conducted orally

HISTORICAL TRENDS
The first written exams in Europe were held at Cambridge University, England in 1792 earn money 1)Intuitive (subjective) stage impressions of teachers personal

2)Scientific stage (language specialists) 3)Communicative stage (emphasize ev. of lang. rather than lang. form

WHAT MAKES A GOOD EXAM?

RELIABILITY is a measure of the test's consistency

VALIDITY usefulness

is a measure of a test's

STANDARDIZATION is the process of trying out the test on a group of people to see the scores which are typically obtained

TEACHING TO THE TEST

Test positive or negative impact
controversial and contextual issue

influences good teaching and learning practices

What might work for one particular teaching/learning context might miserably fail in another

TEACHING TO THE TEST

Are the teachers aware of why they teach, what they teach? it will be impossible to maximize positive test impact they cannot possibly encompass everything that needs to be tested

CONTRASTING CATEGORIES OF ESL TESTS

Knowledge Performance Subjective Objective Productive Receptive Lang.Subskill Com. Skills Norm-referenced Criterion-referenced Discrete-point Integrative Proficiency Achievement

PLANNING THE TEST

Reason why you are giving the test
Are you trying to sort the students? Do you want to know how many students have mastered the content? Is it a formative assessment? Is it a summative measure?

PLANNING THE TEST

Decisions in the test development process:

1. What to test 2. How much emphasis to give to various objectives 3. What type of questions to use 4. How much time to allocate for the assessment

PLANNING THE TEST

5. How to prepare the students 6. What type of test (textbook publisher, own, sheet answer)

decide how much emphasis to place on each objective

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
a two-way chart which describes the topics to be covered by a test and the number of items or points which will be associated with each topic PURPOSE to identify the achievement domains being measured and to ensure that a fair and representative sample of questions appear on the test

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Objectives/Content area/Topics # Compre Appli items/ Knowledge hension cation % of test
x 20% 20%

1. Know the advantages & disadvantages of the major selection-types of questions.

2. Be able to differentiate between well and poorly written selection-type questions 3. Be able to construct appropriate selection-type questions using the guidelines and rules that were presented in class.

40%

x 40%

40%

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Steps to follow:

1. Choose the measurement goals and domain to be covered, 2. Break the domain into fairly independent parts (concepts, terms, procedures, applications), and 3. Construct the table

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Benefits students

improves the validity of teachermade tests can improve students learning as well ensure that there is a match between what is taught and what is tested

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
LINK BETWEEN TEACHING & TESTING OBJECTIVES TEACHING TESTING

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Estimate the time needed Type of ? Sec/Min X ?

True-False ? Multiple choice Complex multiple choice Multiple choice problems with calculations

15-30 30-60 60-90

2-5 min.

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Short answer (one word) 30-60 sec Short answer (two more word) 1-4 min Matching (5 premises, 2-4 min 6 responses) Short essays 15-20 min Data analyses/graphing 15-25 min Drawing models/labeling 20-30 min Extended essays 35-50 min

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS
Objectives/Content area/Topics
1. Know the advantages & disadvantages of the major selection-types of questions. 2. Be able to differentiate between well and poorly written selection-type questions 3. Be able to construct appropriate selection-type questions using the guidelines and rules that were presented in class. TOTAL 20 Q 5Q

Knowledge
x 20% 10 Q x 1 x 20% 10 Q x 1

Comprehen Applica sion tion

# items/ % of test
20% 10 Q 10 pts

x 20% 5Qx2 x 40% 4Qx5

40% 15 Q 20 pts

40% 4 Q 20 pts

4Q

29 Q 50 pts