Why t est ? BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
26
© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
Form al assessm ent
2.1 Why t est ?
In t his chapt er w e shall look at t he reasons f or t est ing our st udent s and w e shall exam ine som e of t he possible t est t ypes w hich w e could use. The list of t ypes of t est
is not int ended t o be exhaust ive, but int ends t o give you a breakdow n of t he m ain t ypes of t est com m only used, t heir advant ages and disadvant ages and t he cont ext s
in w hich t hey are best put t o use. The t ype of t est w e use w ill depend on t he sit uat ion, t he need and t he purpose of t est ing.
Object ions
Som e com m on argum ent s against classroom t est ing as opposed t o inf orm al assessm ent are t he f ollow ing:
a
‘ Test ing t akes up valuable t im e w hich I could bet t er use f or t eaching.’
b
‘ I know how m y st udent s are doing anyw ay. W hy do I need t o t est t hem as w ell?’
c
‘ Som e of t he st udent s in m y class, w ho have w orked hard all year, f ail t est s. Ot hers w ho have done less w ork pass t hem , just because t hey have been t o an
English speaking count ry or because t hey have privat e classes.’
d
‘ Test s do not m ot ivat e m y st udent s at all. The good ones f eel com placent and t he bad ones just give up.’
Rat ionale
Here are som e answ ers t o t he object ions raised in a t o d above:
a
Test ing t akes up t im e, but it should be seen as part of t he t eachinglearning process rat her t han som et hing divorced f rom it .
b
This inf orm at ion is not alw ays accurat e, especially in t he case of large classes. W hen st udent s are w orking t oget her in t he classroom sit uat ion, individual
w eaknesses can be obscured. Test s t heref ore enable us t o m easure progress in a m ore individualised w ay.
c
Test s are only part of t he assessm ent process and should be seen as a com plem ent t o, eg self and inf orm al assessm ent .
d
M ot ivat ion w ill depend on how w e use t he result s of t he t est . If t est s are seen as com pet it ive, t hey m ay dem ot ivat e st udent s If t hey are seen as opport unit ies f or
st udent s t o f ind out how t hey are progressing, t est s can m ot ivat e st udent s t o t hink about t heir problem s and do som et hing about t hem . Thus it is im port ant f or
t est s t o be linked t o self -assessm ent so t hey can add t o ot her areas of f orm at ive assessm ent , assessm ent w hich helps our learners t o develop.
Reasons f or t est ing
Let us look in det ail at w hy w e should t est our st udent s. First ly, w henever a t est is adm inist ered, t here is a decision t o be m ade:
◆ W e m ay w ant t o f ind out about a candidat e’s suit abilit y t o f ollow a course of
st udy, alt hough t his is not t he case in st at e educat ion. ◆
W e m ay need t o f ind out how a st udent is progressing during a course of st udy and possibly ident if y problem areas bef ore a course ends.
◆ W e m ay w ant t o com pare a st udent ’s perf orm ance w it h t hat of ot her st udent s.
◆ W e m ay w ant t o f ind out how m uch a st udent has learned during t he course or
academ ic year ie com pare w hat st udent s can do at t he end of t he course com pared w it h t he beginning of t he course.
2
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 27
In all t hese cases, decisions are m ade about t he st udent . If no decision is t o be m ade as a result of t he t est , t here seem s lit t le point in adm inist ering t he t est . If you have a
clear idea of t he kind of decision w hich needs t o be m ade about your learners, t hen you w ill be closer t o ident if ying t he m ost appropriat e kind of t est f or you.
A com m on m isconcept ion, held by st udent s and t eachers alike, is t hat a t est is som et hing w hich is done t o or at people rat her t han som et hing w hich is done by
t hem and f or t hem . We should view t he decisions w hich are m ade about st udent s as decisions w hich are t aken f or t hem . Form al t est ing should be seen as a com plem ent
t o ot her f orm s of assessm ent , eg self -assessm ent and inf orm al assessm ent . The basic diff erences are t hat if w e have a w ell designed, reliable and valid t est , t hen t he
t est w ill m easure st udent s’ abilit y in a m ore object ive w ay t han m ore subject ive f orm s of assessm ent such as inf orm al observat ion and self -assessm ent . This is not t o
say t hat all f orm al t est ing is object ive. Nor should w e t ake t he view t hat subject ive is necessarily bad and t hat object ive is necessarily good. For exam ple all oral t est s are
subject ively m arked and all m ult iple choice t ype t est s are object ively m arked.
The inf luence of t est s on t eaching and learning is called t he w ashback ef f ect . If your st udent s have t o do a t est or m aybe a public exam inat ion at t he end of t he course
t his w ill aff ect t he syllabus. If w e have a good t est , t his should aff ect t eaching in a posit ive m anner. If w e have a bad t est , t his m ight aff ect t eaching in a negat ive
m anner. W hat is a ‘ good’ t est and w hat is a ‘ bad’ t est ? A t est can have a posit ive inf luence if it cont ains aut hent ic, real-lif e exam ples of t he t ype of t asks w hich your
learners w ill need t o perf orm in t he f ut ure. Test s can have a negat ive inf luence if t hey cont ain art if icial t asks not linked t o real f ut ure needs. Teaching m et hods w ill
probably ref lect t hese t asks and t he learning process could end up revolving around w hat w e m ight t erm ‘ exam pract ice’ . Your ow n t est s w ill also have an eff ect on your
st udent s’ learning. If you t est m ainly gram m ar, your st udent s w ill assum e t hat t his is t he m ost im port ant t hing t o learn and m ay m ake less eff ort during ot her m ore
com m unicat ive act ivit ies.
Washback effect
Match these examples of assessment with their washback effects:
1 A progress test which concentrates
on one out of four chapters covered in the textbook.
2 An end of year test which
concentrates on grammar and vocabulary, even though you have
done lots of speaking and listening.
3 A diagnostic test which has shown
that your class is very weak on speaking skills.
4 An end of year test of reading,
listening and speaking, covering a wide range of material.
Check your answers on page 61 Bad washback. Students will
feel that luck was more important than hard work.
Bad washback. Students will feel that classwork has been a
waste of time. Good washback. Students will
feel they have been tested fairly.
Good washback. The information will help you plan
your course to suit the needs of your students.
28
© M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd
W hen w e are t est ing w e also need t o ask ourselves w ho t he t est is f or and w ho w ill look at t he result s. We t heref ore need t o t hink about w ho w e are account able t o.
First ly w e m ust t hink about our learners w ho need t o receive f eedback about progress and perf orm ance. They w ill com pare t he t est and t he t est m et hods t o t he
t eaching m et hods you have used. Theref ore it is im port ant f or us t o t ell t hem how w e are going t o t est t hem at t he beginning of a course and perhaps t ell t hem w hy
w e are going t o t est t hem like t his.
In m ost schools parent s w ill use t est result s as a w ay of det erm ining st udent ’s progress, int erest and applicat ion t o t he course of st udy. Parent s w ill also consider
result s, especially t hose f rom public exam inat ions, as evidence of t he eff ect iveness of t he t eacher, t eaching m et hods and school. Test result s should t heref ore be easily
accessible and com prehensible t o parent s of st udent s. We should be able t o explain t o parent s how w e got t he result s and our rat ionale f or t est ing in t his w ay.
Types of t est
Bef ore, during and at t he end of courses, diff erent t ypes of t est are adm inist ered. The key quest ion is t he purpose of t he t est . Diff erent t est s are adm inist ered f or
dif f erent purposes and are used at diff erent st ages of t he course as a m eans of gat hering inf orm at ion about st udent s. The m ain t ypes of t est are discussed below
and t he pros and cons of each t ype are described. How ever, you, as language t eachers, should decide on w hat t he best opt ion is in each inst ance f or your
part icular groups of learners and your part icular t eaching sit uat ion.
Progress t est s
This t ype of t est is adm inist ered during courses. Progress t est s m ay be adm inist ered af t er cert ain blocks of st udy, eg af t er x num ber of unit s, at t he end of each w eek,
each t erm et c. The t est aim s t o f ind out inf orm at ion about how w ell classes as a w hole and individual st udent s have grasped t he learning object ives, how w ell t he
course cont ent is f unct ioning w it hin t he specif ied aim s and object ives and f ut ure course design. Teachers can easily ident if y how w ell st udent s are progressing in a
very short period of t im e, eg a progress t est of half an hour can give a great deal of inf orm at ion about t he class if t he t est is w ell designed. Progress t est s can provide a
great deal of inf orm at ion if t he t est sam ples w idely f rom t he course cont ent . Progress t est s can perf orm a very im port ant f orm at ive f unct ion in t hat t hey do not
only give inf orm at ion t o t he t eacher but can provide im port ant f eedback t o t he st udent . W hen linked w it h self -assessm ent , f eedback can help learners t o ident if y
t heir ow n problem s and t o set t heir ow n goals f or t he f ut ure.
Sum m at ive t est s
These t est s are adm inist ered at t he end of courses and t heir object ive is t o see if st udent s have achieved t he object ives set out in t he syllabus. W hile t hese t est s can
be used eff ect ively as a w ay of deciding w het her st udent s m ove on t o a higher level, t his can be done bet t er at secondary school level by progress t est s t hroughout t he
year in com binat ion w it h inf orm al assessm ent by t he t eacher. A lot of inf orm at ion gained f rom a sum m at ive t est is of t en w ast ed because it does not f eed back int o
t he learning process as does f orm at ive assessm ent . Also, end of year t est s can put a lot of st ress on bot h t eachers and st udent s.
© M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 29
Ent ryplacem ent t est s
This t ype of t est w ill indicat e at w hich level a learner w ill learn m ost eff ect ively in a sit uat ion w here t here are dif f erent levels or st ream s. The aim is t o produce groups
w hich are hom ogeneous in level t hat w ill use inst it ut ional and t eacher t im e m ost ef f ect ively. The larger t he groups of learners t o be designed, t he m ore
hom ogeneous t he groups w ill need t o be and t heref ore t he m ore reliable t he ent ry or placem ent t est w ill need t o be. This t ype of t est is less usef ul w here st udent s are
grouped alphabet ically or according t o age rat her t han abilit y. Ent ry or placem ent t est s are not very com m on in st at e run inst it ut ions.
Diagnost ic t est
As t he nam e suggest s, t his t ype of t est is used t o f ind out problem areas. W here ot her t ypes of t est s are based on success, diagnost ic t est s are based on f ailure. W e
w ant t o know in w hich areas a st udent or group of st udent s are having problem s, w hich part s of a course or learning object ives t hose st udent s cannot cope w it h. One
w ay of looking at t his t ype of t est is t o consider it as a t echnique based on elicit ing errors rat her t han correct answ ers or language.
Diagnost ic inf orm at ion is vit al f or t eachers in order t o design f urt her course act ivit ies and w ork out rem edial act ivit ies. The inf orm at ion can also be usef ul f or
learners, as t hey can analyze t heir ow n problem s. Diagnost ic t est ing is present in m any progress t est s f or t he sim ple reason t hat t he progress t est s ident if y problem
areas. How ever, a reliable diagnost ic t est is diff icult t o design.
Prof iciency t est s
This t ype of t est aim s t o describe w hat st udent s are capable of doing in a f oreign language and are usually set by ext ernal bodies such as exam inat ion boards.
Prof iciency t est s enable st udent s t o have som e proof of t heir abilit y in a language. They also provide pot ent ial em ployers w it h som e guarant ee of prof iciency in a
language because exam inat ion boards are seen as bodies w hich set st andards in an im part ial w ay and boards’ exam inat ions are generally considered t o be reliable and
valid. Som e prof iciency t est s, w hile claim ing t o be com m unicat ive, of t en have a large language com ponent such as gram m ar or vocabulary. This can have a negat ive
w ashback eff ect on t eaching in t erm s of exam inat ion preparat ion.
Your testing
Which of these questions do you need to answer about your students? • What levels they should go into?
• How are they getting on at the moment? • What are their problems and weaknesses?
• How much have they learnt over the course? • What can my students do in English?
What types of test do you have to do? Match these types with the questions:
summative diagnostic proficiency placement progress Check your answers on page 61
30 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.