22
d. Assembling the Final Form
After the reading items have been pre-tested, there will be some items that are eliminated. There is no rule on how many comprehension items should
accompany a passage. However, there should be a reasonable relation between the length of the passage and the number of questions asked about it.
3. Testing Writing
Harris 1969: 68-79 states five general components of writing. They are 1 content: the substance of the writing and the idea expressed, 2 form: the
organization of the content, 3 grammar: the employment of grammatical forms and syntactic patterns, 4 style: the choice of structures and lexical items to give a
particular tone or flavor to the writing, and 5 mechanic: the use of the graphic conventions of the language.
a. Comparison of the Composition and Objective of Writing
There are several points that must be included in a composition. They are: 1 Composition tests require students to organize their own answers, expressed in
their own words. Thus, composition tests measure certain writing ability e.g., ability to organize, relate, and weigh materials more effectively than objective
tests do. 2 Composition tests motivate students to improve their writing.
3 Composition tests are much easier and quicker to prepare than objective tests. The critics of composition testing usually have been answered by these
statements. Composition tests are unreliable because:
23 1 Students perform differently on different topics and on different occasions;
and the scoring of composition is by nature highly subjective. 2 In writing composition, students can cover up weaknesses by avoiding
problems e.g., the use of certain grammatical patterns and lexical items they find difficult.
3 Composition test require much more scoring time than objective test. The recent findings in regard to testing writing ability can be summarized,
1 well-constructed objective test of the language skill have been found. Therefore, if the scoring of composition would be feasible, objective test can be
used alone as fairly good predictors of general writing skill, 2 at the same time, it is clear that there are ways to administer and score composition tests so that
they probably used by themselves as reliable instruments, 3 the combination of objective test and composition test will produce more valid result than would
either two types of measures used by itself.
b. Objective Tests of the Elements of Writing
1 Testing formal grammar and style Examples of the kind of grammatical matters that may be included in
writing ability test are the following: 7. Example: Subject-verb agreement
The design of the two bridges areis very unusual. 8.
Example: Structural parallelism She enjoyed sewing, reading, and just to sitsitting on the porch
watching the people go by.
24 9. Example: Case of pronouns
To my little brother and I me, Uncle John was the most wonderful friend.
10. Example: Comparison of adjectives The afternoon rush hour is the worseworst part of the day in which to
drive through the city.
11. Example: Formation of adverbs The man tipped his hat and spoke very politepolitely to the ladies.
12. Example: Formation of irregular verbs Neither of the children would tell us who had brokebroken the
window. There are several specific item types. They are:
2 Error recognition Here the examinee is required to indicate which of several underlined
parts of a sentence is unacceptable for formal written English, or to indicate that the sentence contains no “error.”
13. Example: The position taken in his most recent speeches seem to indicate a
A B C Willingness
to compromise. No error.
D E 3 Sentence completion
The examinee is required to select the best way of completing a sentence in terms of grammar, diction, tone, and sense.
14. Example: During his last year in office, his popularity with the voters… .
A. descended downward swiftly B. quickly touched bottom
25 C. declined very suddenly
D. rapidly plunged under
This item type provides an excellent method of measuring a wide range of problems relating to the effective use of written English.
4 Sentence correction The examinee is required to select the best revision of an underlined
portion of a sentence. 15. Example:
While watching from our window, the great ship slowly entered the harbor, whistle blowing and crew cheering.
A. While watching B. Upon watching
C. As we watched D. Having been watched
c. Testing Ability to Organize Material