HANDOUT - Rodzaje testów
1. There are two basic types of testing: (1) regular testing, when the teacher administers frequent, short tests to measure the students' achievements and assigns marks for their work at a given lesson or a topic; and (2) final testing, or examination at the end of the course. The tests are administered in three forms: oral, written, or oral and written.
2. Since there are many items of testing as well as students in the class, the teacher needs special tests, which should be objective and easy to administer. The following tests are very frequent in schools: teacher-made tests, ready-made tests (e.g. in the Teachers Book), and standardised tests.
A standardised test is a test that has been developed from tryouts and experimentation to ensure that it is reliable and valid, and which provides uniform procedures for administering (time limits, response format, number of questions) and for scoring the test.
Naturally, teacher-made tests are the most popular because teachers know the material their pupils have covered better than anyone else. That is why they can administer a test which will correspond to their students' capacities. However, in administering tests they should always keep in mind the items of testing, i.e. the syllabus requirements for this particular form.
3. What is Aptitude test and what does it measure ?
-developed in an attempt to identify learners who will have difficulties i learning a FL
- measures a person's aptitude for second or foreign language learning and which can be used identify those learners who are most likely.
The designers of these tests insist that they should not be used as instruments to exclude from foreign language study, since all students can profit from some experience in this area. Although some progress has been made, these tests have not yet been perfected as prognostic tests. Rather, they provide a chart of predicted strengths and weaknesses which may serve as a guide in placing learners in faster-moving or slower-moving groups. The analysis of this kind can be useful to the teacher who is trying to help particular learners with some areas of language learning.
4. Aptitude tests usually consist of several different tests which measure such abilities as:
(a) sound coding ability - the ability to identify and remember new sounds in a FL
(b) grammatical coding ability - the ability to identify the grammatical function of different parts of sentences
(c) inductive learning ability - the ability to work out meaning without explanation in new language
(d) memorisation - the ability to remember words, rules etc. In new language
5. What are Proficiency tests ?
In their design, proficiency tests are related not to the actual studies undertaken by the particular persons to whom they are administered, but rather to the level of skill in the language which is considered desirable in a successful candidate. Proficiency tests have traditionally consisted of standardised multiple-choice items on grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening [aural] comprehension, and sometimes of a sample of writing.
6. What are Achievement tests ?
- measures how much of a lg someone has learned with reference to a particular course of study or programme of instruction
-The difference between this and a more general type of test called proficiency test is that the latter is not linked to any particular course of instruction. A proficiency test might use similar test items but would not be linked to any particular textbook or language syllabus.
-this test helps the teacher
For some languages, English included, standardised achievement tests, or attainment tests, are available. These tests constructed by organisations outside the schools, are designed for different levels of achievement. They are usually prepared by experts, pre-tested, and revised where defects have been revealed. They are related directly to classroom lessons, units, or even a total curriculum.
7. What are Progress tests ?
Test prepared by a teacher and given at the end of the chapter, course
Progress tests may be regarded as similar to achievement tests but narrower and much more specific in scope. They help the teacher judge the degree of success of his/her teaching and to identify the weakness of the learners.
8. What are Diagnostic tests ?
- they are designed to indicate teacher and ss areas of strength and weaknesses
- designed to show that skills or knowledge a learner knows and does not know
Tests set by teachers for their own classes, particularly informal tests during the course of the year's work, have a different purpose. The results of these tests will show what sections of the work should be revised, restudied and where further practice is essential. They usually indicate to the teacher if the students are ready to move on to new work.
Diagnostic tests are most useful if:
- they are corrected thoroughly,
- returned promptly to students,
- and discussed in class.
9. What are Placement tests ?
Designed to place students in a particular level of a lg prog....
A placement test, or sometimes called a classification test, typically includes a sampling of material to be covered in the curriculum, and it thereby provides an indication of the point at which the student will find a level or class to be neither too easy nor too difficult, but to be appropriate.
The term “placement test” does not refer to what a test contains or how it is constructed, but to the purpose for which it is used. Various types of test or testing procedure (e.g. dictation, an interview, a grammar test) can be used for placement purposes.
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