DESIGNING A COMBINATION OF READING AND WRITING TEST FOR RSBI SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP PANGUDI LUHUR I YOGYAKARTA A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

  DESIGNING A COMBINATION OF READING AND WRITING TEST FOR RSBI SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP PANGUDI LUHUR I YOGYAKARTA A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

  By Rika Raswitasari

  Student Number: 061214096

   

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010

  DESIGNING A COMBINATION OF READING AND WRITING TEST FOR RSBI SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP PANGUDI LUHUR I YOGYAKARTA A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

  By Rika Raswitasari

  Student Number: 061214096

   

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010

  I dedicate this Thesis to my dearest family

  

ABSTRACT

  Raswitasari, Rika. (2010). Designing A Combination of Reading and Writing Test

for RSBI Seventh Grade Students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.

  In learning English, every learner’s goal is to be able to master four skills namely Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing skill. Thus, there are four tests to measure learner’s skill in mastering English. Those tests are Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing test. Usually, Speaking and Listening skills are measured together at the same time. On the other hand, Reading skill is measured together with Writing skill. Therefore, there is a test called a combination of Reading and Writing test. In SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta, there was a need for a combination of Reading and Writing test designed specially for RSBI seventh grade students. The test was designed specially in order to meet the needs and characters of the students who had higher level of English skill being compared to the students from regular classes. In order to achieve that goal, the test must be made more challenging. This study attempted to solve the problem by designing a combination of Reading and Writing test that is able to make the students perform their high English skill.

  In the effort to create a more challenging test, the researcher designed the test by using authentic materials. Authentic materials were used because they provided real life language, vocabularies and structures that would create certain challenge to the learners. Authentic materials also provided topics and tasks that were similar to real-life tasks that would be challenging for the intermediate learners.

  In designing the test, the researcher employed Educational Research and Development method proposed by Borg & Gall (1983). There were ten steps in R &

  D. However, the researcher only applied seven steps out of those ten steps. Those steps were (1) research and information collecting, (2) planning, (3) preliminary form of product development, (4) preliminary field-testing, (5) main product revision, (6) main field-testing, and (7) operational product revision. In conducting the study, the researcher used interview to gather data and information. The interview was done twice. The first interview was done in step 1 to find out the students’ needs. The second interview was done in step 4 to gather experts’ suggestions and comments to revise the test before it was field tested in step 6.

  The result of the main field testing showed that the highest score was 87 achieved by two students, the lowest score was 50 achieved by one student and the average score was 77.03. This data proved that students did much more efforts in dealing with real-life language structures and grammar and writing tasks that were made similar to real-life tasks in the test designed by the researcher. Thus, it can be concluded that the combination of Reading and Writing test designed by using authentic materials was successfully able to challenge the students to perform their high English skills.

  

ABSTRAK

  Raswitasari, Rika. (2010). Designing A Combination of Reading and Writing Test

for RSBI Seventh Grade Students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Dalam belajar bahasa Inggris, tujuan setiap pembelajar adalah untuk dapat menguasai empat keterampilan yaitu Berbicara, Mendengarkan, Membaca, dan Menulis. Jadi, ada empat tes untuk mengukur keterampilan peserta didik dalam penguasaan bahasa Inggris. Tes tersebut adalah tes Berbicara, Mendengarkan, Membaca, dan Menulis. Biasanya, keterampilan Berbicara dan Mendengarkan diukur pada saat yang sama. Di sisi lain, keterampilan Membaca diukur bersama-sama dengan keterampilan Menulis. Oleh karena itu, ada tes yang disebut dengan tes gabungan Membaca dan Menulis. Di SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta, ada kebutuhan akan tes gabungan Membaca dan Menulis yang dirancang khusus untuk siswa kelas tujuh RSBI. Tes ini dirancang khusus untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dan karakter siswa yang memiliki tingkat keterampilan bahasa Inggris yang lebih tinggi dibanding dengan dengan siswa dari kelas reguler. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, tes harus dibuat lebih menantang. Maka, studi ini berusaha untuk menjawab permasalahan dengan merancang suatu tes gabungan Membaca dan Menulis yang mampu membuat para siswa menampilkan kemampuan bahasa Inggris mereka yang tinggi.

  Dalam upaya untuk menciptakan tes yang menantang, peneliti merancang tes dengan menggunakan teks-teks otentik. Teks-teks otentik digunakan karena teks-teks tersebut mampu memberikan kosa-kata dan struktur kebahasaan yang digunakan dalam kehidupan nyata yang akan menciptakan tantangan tertentu kepada para peserta didik. Teks-teks otentik juga memberikan topik dan tugas-tugas yang mirip dengan kehidupan nyata yang akan menantang bagi pembelajar level menengah

  Dalam merancang tes, peneliti menggunakan metode Educational Research

  

and Development dari Borg dan Gall (1993). Ada sepuluh langkah dalam siklus R &

D . Namun, peneliti hanya menggunakan tujuh dari sepuluh langkah tersebut.

  Langkah-langkah tersebut adalah (1) research and information collecting, (2)

  

planning , (3) preliminary form of product development, (4) preliminary field-testing,

  (5) main product revision, (6) main field-testing, dan (7) operational product

  

revision . Dalam melakukan penelitian ini, peneliti menggunakan wawancara untuk

  mengumpulkan data and informasi. Wawancara dilakukan dua kali. Wawancara pertama dilakukan pada langkah 1 untuk menemukan kebutuhan siswa. Wawancara kedua dilakukan pada langkah 4 untuk mengumpulkan saran dan komentar para ahli guna merevisi tes rancangan pertama sebelum tes diujikan pada langkah 6.

  Hasil main field-testing menunjukkan bahwa nilai tertinggi adalah 87 dicapai oleh dua siswa, nilai terendah adalah 50 dicapai oleh satu siswa, dan nilai rata-rata adalah 77,03. Data ini membuktikan bahwa siswa melakukan lebih banyak usaha dalam menghadapi struktur dan tata bahasa nyata dan tugas-tugas menulis yang dibuat sedemikian rupa hingga menyerupai tugas yang sesungguhnya dalam tes yang dirancang oleh peneliti. Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan bahwa tes gabungan Membaca dan Menulis yang dirancang oleh peneliti berhasil menantang siswa untuk menampilkan kemampuan bahasa Inggris mereka yang tinggi.

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  My greatest thank is for Jesus Christ as He has given me the very valuable experience of searching for knowledge that will keep me survive till the end of my life. I would like to thank the angels He has sent for me to guide me to accomplish my goal and keep my spirit burnt in enthusiasm and eagerness. Further, my deepest thanks are special for those who have supported me

  First, I thank very very much to Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., my thesis sponsor, for guiding me to accomplish my mission of finishing my study in the university. I would like to give my greatest respect and appreciation for her help, kindness and patience in evaluating and correcting any errors and mistakes I made in writing my thesis.

  Second, my deepest thank is special for Andrea Ismargyaning Utami, S.Pd., my PPL pamong teacher who then inspired me to write a thesis about designing a combination of reading and writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP

  

Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta. She not only inspired me but also helped me to provide

  any important information and references so that I was able to do my research so well.

  Third, I would like to give my warmest thanks for the big family of SMP

  

Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta especially RSBI seventh grade students for being the

  subjects of this study and the honorable headmaster Br. Heribertus Triyanto, FIC., for giving me the access to conduct the research in the school.

  Fourth, my deepest thank and appreciation is for Drs. J.B. Gunawan, M.A. and Tri Sukartini, S.Pd for being willing to spend times for me in the middle of their busy days to check my preliminary-designed test. Their feedbacks and suggestions were one of most important parts in this research. Without their helps and kindness I would not have made this far.

  Next, my endless thank and gratitude is special for my family. I would like to thank to my mother Anastasya Sumarni, and my sister Bernadheta Emmy Yulida for their prayers and supports day and night for me. They gave me the reason to be successful in my study and my life.

  Last, my sweetest thanks are special for my boyfriend Coco, and my best friends Yenny Setyawati, Arum Widyastuti, Arif Rusna Pratiwi, Rina Seabaya Kristinasari, Farida Noor Rohmah, Denza Saputra, and Dani ‘Morron’ for bringing smiles, laughter, and colors in to my life. They are the boredom and desperation killers who always give me new energy to confront with stress and depression I face during my study. Actually, there are still so many other friends who cheered up my life I met in my beloved university, Sanata Dharma Yogyakarta, yet I can hardly have enough space to write their names in this thesis. Even so, their names have been typed in the story of my life and will endure forever in my heart.

  Rika Raswitasari

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................ i APPROVAL PAGES ........................................................................... ii PAGES OF DEDICATION .................................................................. iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY...................................... v ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... vii

  

ABSTRAK ............................................................................................... viii

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................... x TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES................................................................................. xvii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................... xviii LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................... xix

  CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study.......................................................

  1 1.2 Problem Formulation ............................................................

  5 1.3 Problem Limitation ...............................................................

  5 1.4 Objectives of the Study .........................................................

  6 1.5 Product Specification ............................................................

  6 1.6 Benefits of the Study.............................................................

  7 1.7 Definition of Terms...............................................................

  8

  CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Theoretical Description.........................................................

  12 2.1.1 Language Testing ....................................................

  12 2.1.1.1 Reliability................................................

  12 2.1.1.2 Validity....................................................

  14 2.1.1.3 Practicality...............................................

  16 2.1.1.4 Authenticity.............................................

  17 2.1.2 Testing Reading ......................................................

  18 2.1.2.1 General Form of the Reading Test ..........

  18 2.1.2.2 Selection of the Test Passages................

  18 2.1.2.3 Advice on Item Writing ..........................

  19 2.1.2.4 Assembling the Final Form.....................

  22 2.1.3 Testing Writing ......................................................

  22

  2.1.3.1 Comparison of the Composition and Objective of Writing ................................

  22

  2.1.3.2 Objective Tests of the Elements of Writing ................................................

  23 2.1.3.3 Testing Ability to Organize Material ......

  25 2.1.3.4 Testing the Mechanic of Writing ............

  26

  2.1.3.5 Improving the Effectiveness of Composition Tests...................................

  26

  2.1.4 Rintisan Sekolah Berbasis Internasional (RSBI) .... 27

  2.1.4.1 Definition ................................................

  41 3.5.2 Item Analysis ..........................................................

  43 3.6 Research Procedure................................................................

  43 3.5.3.3 Authenticity.............................................

  42 3.5.3.2 Reliability................................................

  42 3.5.3.1 Validity....................................................

  42 3.5.3 Validity, Reliability, and Authenticity ....................

  41 3.5.2.2 Item Discrimination ................................

  41 3.5.2.1 Item Facility ............................................

  40 3.5.1 Participants’ Needs .................................................

  27 2.1.5 Authentic Language Test ........................................

  39 3.5 Data Analysis Technique .......................................................

  39 3.4 Data Gathering Technique .....................................................

  38 3.3 Research Instruments .............................................................

  33 3.2 Research Participants .............................................................

  30 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Method....................................................................

  30 2.2 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................

  30 2.1.5.2 Authenticity as ‘real-life’ language use ..

  29 2.1.5.1 Authenticity Definition ...........................

  44

   CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

  4.1 The Designing Process of the combination of Reading and Writing Test ...........................................................................  

  46 4.1.1 Research and Information Collecting......................

  46

  4.1.1.1 Students’ Needs Based on the Interview with the English Teacher.........................

  47 4.1.1.2 The References to Design the Test..........

  48 4.1.2 Planning the Test.....................................................

  48

  4.2 Findings and Discussion on the Designed of the combination Reading and Writing Test ...........................

  49

   4.2.1 Experts’ Comments and Suggestions on the Test ....................................................................

  49 4.2.2 Final Product Revision............................................

  51 4.3 The Result of the Main Field Testing ....................................

  52 4.3.1 Data Presentation ....................................................

  52 4.3.1.1 Frequency Distribution.............................

  52 4.3.1.2 The Item Facility ......................................

  53 4.3.1.3 The Item Discrimination ..........................

  54 4.3.2. Validity...................................................................

  55 4.3.2.1 Face Validity ............................................

  55 4.3.2.2 Content and Construct Validity................

  55 4.3.3 Reliability ...............................................................

  56

  4.4 Presentation of the Combination of Reading and Writing Test ...........................................................................

  56 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions ............................................................................

  57 5.2 Suggestions ............................................................................

  59

  5.2.1 Suggestions for English Teacher of RSBI Seventh Grade Class of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta ..............................................................

  59 5.2.2 Suggestions for the Future Researchers ..................

  59 REFERENCES ......................................................................................

  61

  LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1. Index Discrimination ......................................................................

  54

  LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1. The Elaboration of R & D Cycle ....................................................

  37 4.1. The Frequency Graph of the Main-Field testing Result ................

  52 4.2. The Graph of Item Facility .............................................................

  53

  LIST OF APPENDICES

  APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Letter of Permission from Sanata Dharma University...................................................................

  63 APPENDIX B: Letter of Statement of Having Done A Research in SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta..............................

  64 APPENDIX C: Result of the Interview on the Preliminary Need-Analysis .............................................................

  65 APPENDIX D: Objective and Specification of the Test, and Scoring Rubric ...........................................................

  68 APPENDIX E: Test before Revision ....................................................

  74 APPENDIX F: Result of the Post-Designed Interview.........................

  83 APPENDIX G: Syllabus .......................................................................

  91 APPENDIX H: Result of the Main Field-Testing ................................

  94 APPENDIX I: Tabulation of Item Facility, Item Discrimination, Reliability.....................................................................

  96 APPENDIX J: Reading and Writing Behaviors Blue Print ..................

  99 APPENDIX K: References and Materials to Design the Test .............. 100 APPENDIX L: Presentation of the Designed Test ............................... 119

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of seven parts. The first part is the background of the

  study, which describes the researcher’s reasons conducting the study. The second is the problem formulation, which conveys the problem that will be discussed in the study. The third is problem limitation, which specifies the problem being discussed. The fourth is the objective of the study, which reveals the aim of the study. The fifth is product specification, which defines the product being designed in this study. The sixth is benefit of the study, which explains the benefits of the study that either the researcher or other parties may gain through reading the study and the last is definition of terms, which clarifies the terms used in the study.

A. Background of the Study

  Applying the School Based Curriculum or Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan

  

Pendidikan (KTSP), schools in Indonesia have become so much more autonomous

  being compared to the previous years. They have more freedom to set up policies to provide a better education for their students. As a result, many schools in Indonesia establish international classes for the sake of education quality improvement and SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta belongs to one of those schools. The establishment of international classes is meant to be a process of building a school that has international standard quality. The school that is conducting the process is called Rintisan Sekolah Berbasis Internasional (RSBI)

   

  with international standard teaching and learning which is called RSBI classes. In the future, when a school has been already successful in applying international standard teaching and learning in every class, the school will be called Sekolah

  

Berbasis International (SBI) or International-Based School. This policy is in

  accordance with the policy set up by the Management General Directorate of Elementary and Intermediate Education or Direktorat Jenderal Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah .

  In 2009, SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta became an RSBI School by establishing an international class started from the lowest grade. Thus, the school started from the seventh-grade class. The class is called RSBI seventh grade class. There are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled by the students to be able to join in this class. The requirements for the students are (1) students must have minimum 8 of the average academic score, (2) have good computer skill, (3) have basic English skill, (4) have above average intelligence, and (5) have critical thought. To see whether the candidates are eligible to join RSBI class, the school has a committee that is assigned to check the candidates’ qualifications. The committee’s tasks are to see students’ scores report whether all the scores are above 8, and to conduct an interview to see the candidates’ level of English skills.

  From the interview results, the interviewers also can measure the candidates’ level of intelligence and how critical the candidates are. Meanwhile, the computer skill can be seen from the enclosed certificate that proves students’ having computer literacy.

   

  Meeting all those requirements, the students of RSBI class are considered to be smarter and more qualified than other students from regular classes.

  Therefore, the English lesson for them is designed differently which is obviously more challenging. As a result, their English test must also be designed more challenging than the one designed for the regular classes. Here, the researcher attempts to design a combination of Reading and Writing test for the RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta by using authentic materials.

  The researcher chose RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur

  

I Yogyakarta because she was a teacher trainee who has experienced a three-

  month internship there. While being a teacher trainee, the researcher was assigned by the English teacher to teach the RSBI seventh grade students and to design a combination of Reading and Writing test for them. In designing the test, the researcher was asked by the teacher to make a combination of Reading and Writing test that was relatively more challenging than that given to students in regular classes.

  English test with high level of challenge is given to the RSBI seventh grade students because (1) they have high level of English skill, (2) they learn in an international standard teaching and learning environment where they are expected to be able to use English as good as use their mother tongue, and (3) they deal so much with scientific English in their teaching-learning process. Thus, the test must be able to fit in their needs.

  In order to be able to produce a combination of Reading and Writing test that has high level of challenge, the researcher used authentic materials.

   

  According to Wallace (1992), as cited by Berardo (2006: 61), authentic materials are real-life texts, not written for pedagogic purposes. Materials that belong to authentic materials are articles in newspapers, magazines, the internet, songs, films, advertisements, and so on. Those materials can provide the students with exposure of words, grammar, and sentences used in real life context/everyday life. As the authentic materials are not designed for the teaching and learning activity, they can create certain challenge for the learners.

  In authentic materials, too many structures are mixed so lower levels have a hard times decoding the texts (Martinez, 2002: 1). Obviously, high level of English skill is needed to learn with the materials. It is in accordance with the statement, “Using authentic materials is one of the mainstays of an imaginative and motivating higher level course, but rarely features at levels lower than Intermediate” (anonymous,www.teachingenglish.org/uk/think/articles/using-auth entic material).

  The problem found in RSBI seventh grade class of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta above has led the researcher to design an appropriate combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur

  

I Yogyakarta. The researcher only designed a test to measure Reading and Writing

  skills because in mid semester and in the final examination the students will only face an achievement test which only measure Reading and Writing skills.

  Meanwhile, Listening and Speaking skills have been measured by an achievement test conducted weekly by the English teacher.

    B.

   Problem Formulation

  From the illustration above the researcher formulates the problem as:

  1. How is a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta designed?

  2. What does a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta look like?

C. Problem Limitation

  There are four skills in English that must be learnt and mastered by the learners in order to be able to speak English well, namely Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. To find out whether learners have been mastered those four skills or not, learners’ four English skills must be measured. Generally, Listening and Speaking skills are measured in the same time, while Reading skill is measured together with Writing skill. In this research, the researcher only focuses on Reading and Writing skills. Thus, the researcher only designed a combination of Reading and Writing test.

  The researcher only designed a test that only measured Reading and Writing skills because Listening and Speaking skills have been measured by an achievement test conducted weekly by the English teacher. Here, the test designed by the researcher was a combination of Reading and Writing test for final semester examination.

  RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta were

  chosen to be the subjects of the study because the researcher had an experience of

   

  teaching English in this class and found a problem that the English teacher made the test for them relying only on an assumption that the test should be more challenging. However, any evaluation has never been done to see the evidences that the test was effective and already appropriate for the students. Therefore, the researcher attempted to conduct a study to find out the appropriate combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta.

  D. Objective of the Study

  This study is aimed at designing a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta.

  E. Product Specification

  The product in this study was a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta. The test had two main parts namely multiple choices and essay questions. The multiple choices had 50 items and the essay questions had 5 items. There were 42 questions for Reading skill and only 8 questions for Writing skill. There were only 8 numbers of questions for the Writing in the multiple choices part because the school set criteria that maximum number for the Writing questions in the multiple choices part is 10 only. Meanwhile, the essay questions measured only writing skill and those ten items weighted 50% of the total score. Therefore, each part contributed half of the total score.

    F.

   Benefits of the Study

  The investigation of this study is expectantly able to give beneficial contribution to English teachers of RSBI seventh grade class of SMP Pangudi

  

Luhur I Yogyakarta, RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I

Yogyakarta, and other researchers.

  1. English teachers of RSBI seventh grade class of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta

  This study not only provides information about the appropriate combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP

  

Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta but also encourages the teachers to develop the next

tests with the same criteria.

  2. RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta The RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta may have an opportunity to take a test, specifically a combination of Reading and Writing test which is designed specially in order to be in accordance with their level of English skill, intelligence and competence.

  3. Other researchers The findings of this study may inform other researchers about the criteria of a test, specifically a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students that will expectantly encourage them to develop it further. Moreover, it is hoped that other researchers are curious to investigate more about the test to measure not only Reading and Writing skills but also Listening and

   

  Speaking skills for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta or RSBI   students from other schools.

G. Definition of Terms

  1. Authentic Materials There are several definitions of authentic materials. According to Peacock

  (1997), as cited by Martinez (2002: 1) authentic materials are materials that have been produced to fulfill some social purposes in the language community. While according to Widdowson (1990), as cited by Martinez (2002: 1) authentic materials are materials designed for native speakers of English used in the classroom in a way similar to the one it was designed for. Further, Martinez (2002: 1) described several advantages of using authentic materials (1) students are exposed to real discourse, (2) authentic materials keep students informed about what is happening in the world so they have an intrinsic educational value, (3) textbooks often do not include incidental or improper English, and (4) authentic materials can produce a sense of achievement.

  Looking at to those definitions and advantages of authentic materials, the researcher believed that authentic materials would be able to create challenge for the RSBI students. Thus, in this study the researcher designed a combination of Reading and Writing test for seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta by using authentic materials.

   

  2. Rintisan Sekolah Berbasis International (RSBI) RSBI in Bahasa Indonesia stands for Rintisan Sekolah Berbasis

International . In English it means international based school pioneering. The

  missions of RSBI School as it is quoted from www.smp1slawi.sch.id (2009) are to fulfill the service national standard in every aspect, including graduates competence, content, process, teachers, facilities, financial, management, assessment, and have produced graduates with international quality, and to develop a conducive school environment that supports the school to fulfill those aspects. In the future, when the school has been already successful in fulfilling the service national standard in every aspect, the school will be Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional (SBI) or in English it is called international standard school.

  SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta pioneered the process of becoming an

  international standard since 2009. As a result, seventh grade RSBI class was established as the first class with international standard teaching and learning quality supported by international standard teaching and learning facilities with English as the language used in the teaching and learning process. The requirements of joining in this class are (1) students must have minimum 8 of the average academic scores, (2) have good computer skill, (3) have basic English skill, (4) have above average intelligence, and (5) have a critical thought. In addition, students have to pay more expensive school fee in this class. Fulfilling those requirements, the students of RSBI seventh grade class are obviously highly qualified in terms of intelligence and second language skill. Their high level of English skill is the focus in this study. Therefore, the researcher attempts to design

   

  a combination of Reading and Writing test that is able to fit in high level of English.

  3. Reading Mitchell (1982), as quoted by Clapham (1996: 11) defined reading as the ability to make sense of written or printed symbols. Reading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and the text, resulting in comprehension. The text presents letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs that encode meaning. The reader uses knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine what the meaning is (Byrnes, http://www.nclrc.org/essestial/reading/reindex.htm). In this study, the researcher designs a combination of Reading and Writing test by taking the reading passages from real life sources for the reading comprehensions. Therefore, the materials are called authentic materials. The researcher expected that authentic materials which provide letters, words, sentences structure, grammar and language style used in the real life (used by native speaker of English) can challenge the RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta as the test takers in using their knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine meanings in the texts. Thus, they will feel a sense of challenge in dealing with the passages.

  4. Writing According to Hyland (2003: 2), L2 writing teaching is organized in different focus. It focuses on language structures, texts function, themes or topic, creative expression, composing processes, content, genre and context of writing. In this study, the researcher designs a combination of Reading and Writing test

   

  that will measure the Writing skill of RSBI seventh grade students of SMP

  

Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta as the test takers in making sentences or to complete

  sentences with the good and proper language structures, analyzing the genre of writing, analyzing the texts function, and composing paragraphs with the right generic structure. Here, the Writing test materials are taken from real life sources as well as the Reading test.

     

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE There are two main parts in this chapter. The first part is theoretical

  description and the second part is theoretical framework. Theoretical description provides the underlying theories relevant to the study. It reviews some related literatures to support the study. On the other hand, theoretical framework synthesizes and summarizes the theories as the base to design a combination of Reading and Writing test for RSBI seventh grade students of SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta.

A. Theoretical Description

1. Language Testing

  Harris (1969: 13) states that all good tests should possess three qualities: validity, reliability, and practicality. However, Brown (2004: 19) mentions five principles of language testing namely practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback. This study combines both theories. However, washback is not included as the researcher did not conduct a further observation on the effect of the test on teaching and learning.

a. Reliability

  A good test must be reliable. A reliable test is consistent and dependable (Brown, 2004: 20). It means that a test must be consistent in order to be able to

    performances, the more reliable their knowledge and ability of assessment will be.

  A reliability of a test it self is affected by several factors. Brown (2004: 20-22) stated some factors that may contribute to the unreliability of a test. The factors are: 1) Student-related reliability

  The most common issue in reliability is caused by temporary illness, fatigue, a “bad day”, anxiety, and other physical or psychological factors, which may make an “observed” score deviate from one’s “true” score. 2) Rater reliability

  There are two kinds of rater-reliability; they are inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability. Inter-rater reliability occurs when two or more scorers yield inconsistent scorers of the same test, possibly for lack of attention to scoring criteria, inexperience, inattention or even preconceived biases. Intra-rater is a common occurrence for classroom teachers because of unclear scoring criteria, fatigue, bias toward particular “good” and “bad” students, or simple carelessness.

  3) Test administration reliability Unreliability may also result from the condition in which the test is administered. For example, the street noise outside the building may cause distraction during the listening test. Other sources of reliability can be found in photocopying variation, the amount of light in different part of the room, variations in temperature, and even the condition of desks and chairs.

   

  4) Test reliability Test unreliability can happen. For example, if a test is too long and it makes test-takers fatigued by the time they reach the later items and hastily respond incorrectly. Another example is poorly written test. Poorly written tests are tests which are ambiguous and/or have more than one correct answer. It is also another source of unreliability.

b. Validity

  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? (Harris, 1969: 19). A test can be said to be valid if it tests what is intended to be tested. For example, a valid test of reading actually measures reading ability-not 20/20 vision, nor previous knowledge in a subject, nor some other variable of questionable relevance (Brown, 2004: 22).

  There are several types of validation. Brown (2004: 22) mentions five types of validations as follows.

  1) Content-Related Evidence If a test actually samples the subject matters about which conclusions are to be drawn, and if it requires the test-takers to perform the behavior that is being measured, it can be said to have content validity. A test can be considered to have content validity if for example, a test is to measure foreign students’ mastery of English sentence structure, an analysis must first be made of the language itself and decision made on which matters need to be tested, and in what proportion. To

   

  skills area and the test then reflects such an analysis, it may be said to have content validity (Harris, 1969: 19).

  2) Criterion-Related Evidence Brown (2004: 24) defined criterion-related evidence as the extent to which the “criterion” of the test has actually been reached. Further, Brown mentioned that

  In the case of teacher-made classroom assessments, criterion-related evidence is best demonstrated through a comparison of results of an assessment with results of some other measure of the same criterion. For example, in a course unit whose objectives is for students to be able to orally produce voiced and voiceless stops in all possible phonetic environments, the results of one teacher’s unit test might be compared with an independent assessment-possibly a commercial produced test in a textbook-of the same phonemic proficiency

  3) Construct-Related Evidence The third category of validity that a teacher must pay attention to is construct validity. Brown (2001: 389) mentions that One way to look at construct validity is to ask the question “Does this test actually tap into the theoretical construct as it has been defined?“ ”Proficiency” is a construct. “Communicative competence” is a construct. “self esteem” is a construct. Virtually every issue in language learning and teaching involves theoretical construct.

  Tests are, in a manner of speaking, operational definitions of such construct in that they operationalize the entity that is being measured (Hudson & Lynch, 1985) as cited by Brown (2001: 389). 4) Consequential Validity

  Brown (2004: 26) mentioned that consequential validity encompasses all

   

  measuring intended criteria, its impact on the preparation of test-takers, its effect on the learner, and the (intended and unintended) social consequences of a test’s interpretation and use. 5) Face Validity Face validity means the way the test looks to the examinees, test administrators, educators, and the like (Harris, 1969: 21). Face validity refers to the degree to which test looks right, and appears to measure the knowledge or abilities it claims to measure, based on the judgment of the examinees who take it, the administrative personnel who decide on its use, and other psychometrically unsophisticated observers (Mousavi, 2002) as cited by Brown (2004: 26).

  Moreover, Brown (2004: 27) mentions that Face validity will likely be high if learners encounter (1) a well-construct, expected format with familiar tasks, (2) a test that is clear doable within the allotted time limit, (3) items that are clear and uncomplicated, (4) directions that are crystal clear, (5) tasks that are related to their course work (content validity), and (6) a difficulty level that represents a reasonable challenge.

c. Practicality

  An effective test is practical. This means that is not excessively expensive, stays within appropriate time constraints, is relatively easy to administer, and has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient (Brown, 2004: 19). Harris (1969: 21) mentions three considerations of practicality as follows.

  1) Economy Testing can be expensive. Thus, it should be determined whether several administrations and/or scorers will be needed, for the more personnel who must

   

  Economy in time is also a main consideration. In writing or selecting a test, the test administrator should certainly pay attention to how long the administering and scoring of it will take. 2) Ease of Administration and Scoring

  To find out the ease of a test, the test administrator should answer the questions: Does the test provide clear directions so that the test administrator can perform his tasks quickly and efficiently? Does the test call for elaborate mechanical devices (such as audio equipment) that may not be readily accessible or cannot easily be installed in the rooms available? Must each test be administered separately, thereby greatly complicating the testing process? 3) Ease of Interpretation

  The test administrator needs to have some general guidance as to the meaning of test scores to begin with, for without this it is extremely difficult to use an instrument in an efficient manner.