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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Test 1. The Definition of Test
Test is an instrument that is used in the evaluation after teaching and learning process. The test is not only popular in the formal education, but also in the
informal education such as for pre-test, schoolarship test, medical test, exercise test, and others.
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It means that test can be administered in formal and informal education with different purposes. One of the aims of the test is to evaluate learning activities.
Test is concerned with evaluation in enabling teachers to increase their own effectiveness by making adjustments in their teaching and to enable certain group
of students or individuals in the class to get benefit from learning. Furthermore, test is an instrument that consists of correct answer in every item
that can be administered in oral or written.
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The item test should have one answer. This answer must be absolutely correct unless the instruction specifies choosing the
best option. Each option should be grammatically correct when placed in the stem, and the option should be as brief and as clear as possible.
Moreover, test is an instrument which uses systematic procedure related to one or more characteristics of a student. The teacher can observe and describe the
characteristics of students and the result of test can be measured by certain categories in score.
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It means that the test helped the teacher to consider for their characteristics related to their score in doing the test.
1
Zainal Arifin, Evaluasi Pembelajaran, Bandung: PT. Remaja Rosdakarya, 2013, p. 117.
2
Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Student Achievement, Jakarta: PPLPTK, 1988, p. 3.
3
Anthony J. Nitko, Education Tests and Measurement: An Introduction, USA: Marcourt Brace Jovanovch, Inc., 1983, p. 6.
In addition, there are four elements to administer the test: first, a test has the systematically procedured. It means that the teacher has already used a fix and
organized plan in administering the test, then the test has the questions for the students;in administering the test the teacher not only prepared the questions but
also distractor and the best answer of the test, before a test is constructed, it is important to question the standards which are being set, next a test can measure the
students behavior,the test can be as an instrument to evaluate the students behavior and the last, after doing the test, students should have the scores.
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It means that the test will systematically administer in order to get the evaluation and the reflection from student’s understanding in answering some
questions and participating in the test. After getting score the teacher can know the students understanding in material were success or a failure.
Furthermore, in line with Anthony J. Nitko a test is an instrument to get the student’s score.
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The teacher must prepare how to score the test and the teacher has to avoid subjectivity in scoring the test, so it can be used as an instrument. Besides,
a test is a technique to measure the ability of student’s knowledge or performance.
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When scoring students performances, the examiner should concentrate on what individual students are doing with the target language and how they are using it to
achieve purpose. Tests can measure the characteristics of the students.
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Test not only can measure student’s knowledge and performance but also can measure
student’s intelligence and ability in learning and it is shown by score.
Based on the concepts above the writer concluded that the test is not necessarily a written set of questions to which an individual responds in order to
determine whether heshe passes. A more inclusive definition of a test is a means of measuring the knowledge, skills, feelings, intelligence or aptitude of an individual
4
Norman E. Gronlund and Robert L. Linn, Measurement and Evaluation in Teaching, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990, p. 5.
5
Jum C. Nunnally, Educational Measurement and Evaluation, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1972, 2
nd
edition, p. 6.
6
H. Douglas Brown, Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 2001, 2
nd
edition, p. 384.
7
Charles D. Hopkins and Richard L. Antes, Classroom Measurement and Evaluation, USA: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1990, 3
rd
edition, p. 326.
or a group. Tests produce numerical scores which can be used to identify, classify or otherwise evaluate test takers.
2. Types of Test
The variation of the types of test has the aims to make the test taker and testee choose the appropriate test which is needed in teaching and learning
process. Test is one of categories based on the information they obtain.
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So the tests must be organized well in order to get a good result. Teacher is an ideal person
who knows which tests are appropriate for her or his class. Since he or she has already known the condition, method, time, intellegence, and treatment for her
or his students. There are various types of tests that can be implemented in the class. J.B.
Heaton points out four types of test: achievement testattainment tests, proficiency test, aptitude test, and diagnostic test.
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It is supported by Rebecca in
8
Arthur Hughes, Testing for Language Teachers, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 2
nd
edition, p. 11.
9
J.B. Heaton, Writing English Language Tests, London: Longman, 1988, p. 171.
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