Transcript Research Methods 6044LAL

An Introduction to Language Testing
Fundamentals
of
Language Testing
Dr Abbas Mousavi
American Public University
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What is Language Testing?
 A discipline in applied linguistics
 Determining the growth or achievement by
which the success of a student can be
evaluated
 A way of quantifying an unobservable
ability.
 A measure of usefulness of a particular
teaching methodology, curriculum,
approach, etc.
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Types of Assessment
Assessment
Formative: An approach to
assessment which provides
immediate and ongoing feedback to
the students’ progress “during” a
course of study (e.g., frequent
quizzes)
Summative: An approach to
assessment which delays the
measurement of a skill and provides
feedback “at the end of” a course or
unit of instruction (e.g., final exams)
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Purposes of Tests
PAST
FUTURE
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Achievement vs Proficiency Tests
Achievement: A test that measures how
much of a language someone has learnt with
reference to a particular course of study or
program of instruction. The content of this
test is based on a course or program.
Tests
Proficiency: A test that measures how much
of a language someone has learnt
irrespective of where, when, how, and under
what conditions language learning has taken
place. The content is general and is not
based on any course or program.
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Marking/Scoring Tests
Criterion-referenced: Marking or
interpreting an examinee’s test with
reference to a well-defined criterion level of
ability. The test taker(s) must reach this level
of performance to pass the test.
Scoring
Norm-referenced: Marking or interpreting
an examinee’s test with reference to the
performance of other candidates who took
the same test.
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Fundamental Qualities of a Good Test
Reliability
Validity
Practicality
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Practicality
Practicality: The practical (financial, logistic)
considerations of a test. In designing a test, the
following factors are in order:
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Number of tests to be produced
Length of test in time
Cost of test
Cost of training
Cost of monitoring
Difficulty in piloting / pre-testing
Ease of interpreting / analysing the results
Time to report results
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Reliability
Reliability: A quality of test scores which refers to the
consistency of measures across different times, test
forms, raters, and other characteristics of the
measurement context. Reliability addresses the
following questions:
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If I take the test again tomorrow, will I get the same
result?
If I take a different version of the test, will I get the same
result?
If the test had had different items, would I have got the
same result?
Do all markers agree on the mark I got?
If a marker marks my test again tomorrow, will I get the
same result?
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Validity
Validity: the appropriateness of a given test or any of
its component parts as a measure of what it is
purported to measure. A test is said to be valid to the
extent that it measures what it is supposed to
measure.
It follows that the term valid when used to describe a
test should usually be accompanied by the preposition
for. Any test may then be valid for some purposes,
but not for others.
A test should be able to defend its name. Hence, a
“reading comprehension test” should measure
“reading comprehension” ability.
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Relationship between Reliability & Validity
B
A
Neither Reliable
nor Valid
Conclusion
•
•
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Reliable but
Invalid
C
Both Reliable
and Valid
A test cannot be valid unless it is reliable (C).
A test can be reliable without being valid (B).
Reliability is a prerequisite for validity (C).
If a test is valid, it is to some extent reliable (C).
If a test is neither valid nor reliable, it is irrelevant (A).
A test that is not reliable cannot, by definition, be valid (A).
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