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d. Aptitude Test
According to H. Douglas Brown in his book “Aptitude test is designed to measure a person’s capacity or general ability to learn a
foreign language and to apply someone to the classroom learning of any language”.
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It is usually used to: 1. Determine readiness for instructional program
2. Classify or place individuals in appropriate language classes 3. Diagnose the individual’s specific strength and weakness
4. Measure aptitude for learning The opinion above is supported by Grant Henning, in his book
“Aptitude tests are often used to measure the suitability of a candidate for specific program of instruction or particular kind of employment.
For this reason these tests are often synonymously with intelligence test or screening test”.
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Thus, these tests are given before the students begin to study and to select them in section appropriate to their ability.
B. Types of Test Item
Based on the manner of scoring, the type of test item is divided into two general types.
1. Subjective Test
Subjective test is a test where in its scoring requires judgment and evaluation of the scorer. In this type of test, the answer usually is in a form
of composition where the students are given a freedom to relate in their
11
H. Douglas Brown, Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices, New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004, p.43
12
Grant Henning, A guide to Language Testing, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, 1987, p.6
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own words. The subjective tests that are common used in classroom are essay, short answer and completion.
a. Essay
The essay item is the most complex of supply type item. It demands that the students compose a response, often extensive to a
question for which no single response or pattern of response can be cited as correct to the exclusion of all the answer.
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The essay test usually consisted of questions beginning with or including such directions as discuss, explain, outline, evaluate, define,
compare, contrast, and describe.
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Example: Explain the definition of item analysis Thus, the distinctive feature of essay question is freedom of
response it provides. Meanwhile, there are some advantages of essay item, namely:
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a The essay question is useful for measuring the pupil ability to
organize, integrate, and express their idea. b
Constructing essay question are relative easy c
The possibility of guessing minimized. d
Constructing essay question require less time than the other measurement tool such as true false or on multiple choice items.
Beside the above advantages, the essay items have few disadvantages, namely:
a Scoring essay question is difficult
b Unreliability of scoring
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Drs. Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Students Achievement, Jakarta: depdikbud, 1998, p.86
14
Victor H. Noll, Introduction to Educational, Measurement Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965, p.131
15
Drs. Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Students Achievement, Jakarta: depdikbud, 1998, P.87
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c Judgment of students; responds requires much time
d Limited sample of total instructional content
b. Short answer question The short answer item consists of a question, which can be
answered with a word or short phrase.
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Example of instructions to answer the short answer question: “Warm - blooded animals that are born alive and suckle their
young are called …. Mammals “ Generally, teachers prefer to use the short answer type of question,
probably because they think it has some advantages. It is relatively easy to construct, it also gives the teacher some opportunity to see how well
students can express their thought and it is also not difficult to score or mark than the essay question.
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However, it is difficult to phrase the short answer question so that only one answer is correct.
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And this type of question will be more useful only in testing knowledge of facts and
quite specific information.
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Thus, when teachers are going to know the border description about something, they are better to use the essay form.
c. Completion
The completion item is a written statement that requires the examinee to supply the correct word or short phrase in response to an
incomplete sentence, a question, or a word association. Completion test
16
Victor H. Noll, Introduction to Educational Measurement Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965, p.138
17
ibid
18
Drs. Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Students Achievement, Jakarta: depdikbud, 1998, p.62
19
Victor H. Noll, Introduction Educational Measurement Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965, p.139
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can be used effectively to measure the recall of terms, dates, names and generalizations.
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For example: There are five continents in the world. They are …, Africa, …, Australia and Europe. Asia is … continent in the world. ….
One is Australia. This type of test can be used at almost all levels. But it is extremely
difficult to phrase the question or incomplete statement. So, it only one answer correct, and in making the questions, it may not too many clues
are given to answer the questions. If too many clues are given, the items will be too easy, and if an insufficient number of clues are presented,
the item will be ambiguous and may yield several possibility of correct answer.
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2. Objective Test
