Test Duration Test Items

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b. Test Design

It has been mentioned earlier that evaluation feedbacks given from both student and expert respondents tell that the design and format of the test tasks are attractive. The level of difficulty is also not really mattered as according to the expert respondents the level of proficiency is quite suitable for the test taker’s educational background. Therefore, in the test item revision, the task format will not be much revised.

c. Test Instructions

Based on the evaluation feedbacks, there is no different opinion about the test instruction between the two groups of respondents. While according to the students the instructions are quite easy to understand, the experts also consider the instructions quite okay and they do not sugest them to be translated into bahasa Indonesia. Therefore, there is no much revision done in this case. The researcher just tries to provide clearer examples of how to do the tasks for each test section to help students understand the instructions easier.

d. Test Duration

To formulate the right test duration, the researcher provided 60 minutes as the duration of the trial test. Yet, during the trial test every student respondents are asked to start working on the test at the same time and report the time they completed it. The report shows that the average time students spend completing the test was 24.9 minutes. Meanwhile, a questionnaire is given to the expert respondents which mentions that the test duration is 30 minutes as researcher’s hyphotetical duration. In respond to the design, the expert respondents state that 144 the time provided is not enough and suggest to make it 40 or 45 or 50 minutes. Analyzing the average time students need to finish the tasks during the trial test and the suggestions given by the expert respondents, the researcher decides to take 45 minutes as the time duration.

e. Test Items

The above four aspects and the detailed feedbacks given by the expert respondents will act as the consideration frameworks for the test item revision below: 1 Reading Comprehension a Indicator 1, ability to decode letters and words match sounds with letters, with phonic blends It has been mentioned in the previous part of this chapter that this indicator is manifested by two test items. The result of the preliminary product evaluation is that one of the two items, namely item no 2 is accepted by both student and expert respondents. Yet, another item, namely item no 1 gets different responses from those two groups of respondents see table. 4.2, p.107. To decide the revision that should be done to the testing model, the researcher tries to dig out the explanation given by the expert respondent about the item. In the questionnaire, it is revealed that from four expert respondents, two respondents suggested item no 1 has to be revised but the other two respondents say it is ok or good. Both who say it has to be revised agree that the quantifiers are not needed and one of them says that the test item does not significantly show a phonic blend. Further suggestion is revising the layout and design of the item to 145 add circles to the letters or orthographic symbols in order to draw the test takers’ focus more on the activity of matching pictures and the respective letters or orthographic symbols. Below is the illustration of the feedback signed by the blue lines: Although, the students give expected response to this item, the illustration above shows that it should be revised. Corresponding it to the indicator it manifests: decode letters and words match sounds with letters, with phonic blends, the item is not quite appropriately designed. There is no adequate analytical process in the students’ mind to identify the sounds with the letters, the phonic blends and correspond it to the matching picture. Yet, there is no much revision on the design, since the overview feedback from both students and Figure 4.36. Improvement feedbacks for indicator 1, item no 1 The quantifiers is omitted a bus 1 . Some flowers a bird a letter a bag a pair of shoes Circling the letters Instruction: See the pictures. Draw a circle for the correct word and connect it to the picture. Example: Questions: 146 respondents claims that the design is attractive. Therefore, the researcher decides to revise more on the format of this test item as follows: Figure. 4.37. Revision for items format, indicator 1, item no1 bus Instruction: See the pictures. Draw a line for the correct word and connect it to the picture. Example : Questions: : bush h 5 . shoes blouse flower s 2 . shower 1 . cage cake 4 . bag bed letter 3 . leather 147 b Indicator 2, read and understand a growing range of vocabulary: This indicator is manifested into 5 items, no. 3 up to 7. The evaluation done by the experts resulting in some notes of revisions related to those five items, namely: no 4 got two notes. First, the word ‘protect’ in the premises is considered abstract for the age range of the test takers, the respondent suggests to replace it with more concrete sentence, such as we use it when it rains. Second, a note refers to the replacement of its distracter response ‘a jacket’ with some other ‘noun’ wordphrase which is clearly cannot be used to protect the children from the rain. The reason she proposes is because a jacket can also be used to protect the body from the rain especially if it is waterproof. Another feedback goes to test item no 5 which gets two notes of revision. First, the premise “we take it for our breakfast’ corresponding with response ‘a slice of bread’ is not culturally common for Indonesian breakfast. Second, the word ‘take’ in the premise is too general for the test takers that it is advisable to replace it with ‘eat’ as ‘more operational or real’ for them. Furthermore, the word ‘a slice of bread’ as the corresponding response is better replaced with only ‘bread’ with more or less the same reason. For test item no 6 and 7, three respondents approve it to be okay, one respondent says the premises should be designed more concisely. Below is the illustration: 148 Read and draw a line to the correct words. Example: We get some milk from this animal . Questions: a slice of bread

3. We drink it when we are thirsty.