also deals with semantics or morphology. Other expert says that grammar is the way morphemes are joined together to make larger units-words, phrases, clauses,
and finally a whole sentence. Grammar is the study of the rules governing the use of language.
The set of those rules is also called the grammar of language, and each language has its own distinct grammar. Grammar is part of the general study of language
called linguistic. Since the arousal of communicative language teaching in 1960’s,
grammar is no longer becoming the core of language study. This approach focuses on oral proficiency in foreign language rather than mastery of structures it doesn’t
mean that grammar has become the second priority of language study, however the students of junior and senior high school must have good understanding of
grammar because it is one of the linguistics aspect of the curriculum. Studying grammar helps someone learn more the language. A
grammar should serve as a reference by helping correct deviation from standard usage and by improving clarity and style.
Finally, the writer concludes that grammar is a study of the rules governing the use of a language includes the term of syntax, morphology,
phonology, even semantic for forming admissible sentences and for producing acceptable writing and speaking.
d. Grammar Test
1. Definition of Grammar Test
To understand grammar test, someone has to know the meaning of test. Test is examination or trial of something to find its quality , value,
composition, knowledge, etc. Other expert says that test is defined as a systematic procedure for observing and describing one or more
characteristic of a person with the aid of either a numerical scale or category system.
For some speakers and writers, “testing” is used more narrowly to
denote only those formal modes of assessment that are officially scheduled, with clearly delimited time on task and strict limitations on
available guidance. Grammar test are designed to measure student proficiency in
matters ranging from inflections bottles-bottles, bake-baked to syntax. Syntax involves the relationship of words in a sentence, including matters
such a word order, use of negative, question forms, and connectives.
22
Test of grammar and usage are intended to measure the respondent’s ability to recognize grammatical forms and manipulate the
structures through objectives tests and subjective tests.
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2. Kinds of Grammar Test
Grammar test on the high school and college levels have usually concentrated on matters of style and diction appropriate for rather formal
written English. There are ten types of grammar test, here they are :
a. Multiple-choice
items
The type of multiple-choice item favored by many constructors of grammar tests is the incomplete statement type, with a choice of
four or five options.
E.g. Tom ought not to ……… me your secret, but he did. A. tell
B. having told C.
be telling
D. have
told
b. Error-recognition items
Each sentence contains four words or phrases underlined, marked A, B, C, and D. select the underlined word or
phrase which
is incorrect or unacceptable.
E.g. 1. I’m worried that you’ll be angry to me. A
B C D
22
Harold S Madsen, Techniques in Testing, Hongkong; Oxford University Press, 1983
23
J.B. Heaton, Writing English Language Test, New York: Longman, 1988
c. Rearrangement items
Rearrangement items can take several forms, the first of which to consider here will be the multiple-choice type.
E.g. 1. ‘Won’t I need a coat?’ Well, You know how ….
A. it B. today C. warm D. is
d. Completion items
E.g. Put a, the, or some in each blank only where necessary. If You think that no word should be placed in the blank, put a cross x there.
1. Can You see …… sun shining through the clouds? 2. I saw your uncle ….. day before yesterday.
3. What have you been doing since I saw you …. last summer?
e. Transformation items
The transformation items is extremely useful for testing ability to produce structures in the target language and helps to provide a balance
when included in tests containing multiple-choice items. E.g. Rewrite each of the following sentences in another way,
beginning each new sentence with the words given. Make any changes that are necessary but do not change the general meaning of sentence.
1. I haven’t written to you for a long time it’s a long time ………………………………….
2. In sunny weather I often go for walk When the weather ………………………………
f. Items involving the changing of words.
This type of item is useful for testing the student’s ability to use correct tenses and verb forms.
1. Verb : tenses, etc Researchers 1 to convince that a drug
1 …………. They 2 to test can improve the memory
2 …………. and that it 3 to be the forerunner
3 ………….
of other drugs which eventually 4 ………….
4 to improve mental ability.
g. ‘Broken sentence’ items
This type is the item of tests the student’s ability to write full sentences from a series of words and phrases, and thus does not allow the
test writer to concentrate exclusively on testing those particular grammatical features which may have just been practiced in class.
E.g. Take drugs and stimulants keep awake while revise
examination often be very harmful. It be far better lead balanced life and get enough sleep every night. There be limit degree and span
concentration which you be capable exert. Brain need rest as much body. Indeed, it be quality than quantity work that be important.
h. Pairing and matching items
This type of item usually consists of a short conversation e.g. a stimulus in the form of a statement or question followed by a response often
in the form of a statement.
Column 1 Letter
Column 2
Going to see film tonight? …B…
A. No, I didn’t. How was the film?
……. B. Yes, I will.
I can’t stand war film, can you? ……. C. Not really, I quite
like them. So you went to the cinema …….
D. So do I.
i. Combination items
Students are instructed to join each pair of sentences. Using the word in brackets.
a You finish the paper. Then check your answers carefully. AFTER b Some questions may be very difficult. They should be left until later.
WHICH
j. Addition items
Students are instructed to insert the word in capitals in the most appropriate place in each sentence.
a YET Have you answered all the questions?
b STILL Some students had not mastered the correct techniques for
answering examination questions.
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3. Characteristics of a good test
All good tests posses three qualities : validity, reliability, and practically.
1. Validity
The “validity” of a test concerns whether it is measuring what we think and say it is measuring : for example, is a reading comprehension
test item testing reading comprehension ability or something else, such as knowledge of grammar without reference to the reading text?
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In the selection of any test, two questions must always be considered: 1 What precisely does the test measure? And 2 How well
does the test measure? If the test is found to be based upon a sound analysis of the skills we wish to measure, and if there is sufficient
evidence that test scores correlate fairly highly with actual ability in the skill area being tested, then we may feel reasonably safe in assuming that
the test is valid for our purposes.
2. Reliability
By reliability is meant the stability of test scores. A test cannot measure anything well unless it measures consistently. The “reliability” of
a test concerns the accuracy and trustworthiness of its results: if we could erase the test from students’ memories and then repeat it, how similar
would the result be? Reliable test results will accurately reflect each student’s understanding of whatever is being tested; items on which
students are guessing more or less randomly are therefore going to be low in reliability.
24
Ibid., p. 34-50
25
Desmond Allison, Language Testing and Evaluation “An Introductory Course”, Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1999, p.85
Test reliability may be estimated in a number of ways. Obviously, the simplest technique would be to retest the same individuals with the
same test. If the results of the two administrations were highly correlated, we could assume that he test had temporal stability-one of the concepts of
reliability. A second method of computing reliability is with the use of alternate or parallel forms-that is, with different versions of the same test
which are equivalent in length, difficulty, time limits, format, and all other such aspects. A third method for estimating the reliability of a test consists
in giving a single administration of one form of the test and then, by dividing the items into two halves usually by separating odd-and even-
numbered items, obtaining two scores for each individual.
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3. Practicality
