Term

Definition

1. Content validity

u) A type of scoring which does not require the personal judgement of

the examiner.

2. Fresh starts

n) In contrast to proficiency tests, these are directly related to language

courses. Their purpose is to establish to what extend students have
achieved the course objectives. There are two kinds: final achievement
tests and progress achievement tests.

3. Face validity

m) A type of marking that assesses one candidates performance in

relation to the cohorts performance in that specific test. E.g. DELTA
module 1 exam.

4.Concurrent validity

q) Established when the test and the criterion are established at the
same time. E.g. Allowing 30 minutes for a speaking test to provide
speakers with the necessary time to cover all speaking skills listed in
the criterion.

5.Predictive validity

v) The degree to which a test can provide information on candidates

future ability and performance. E.g. how well a proficiency test could
predict a candidates future performance at university.

6. Integrative tests

e) The effect of testing on teaching and learning, in particular, the

teaching and learning on the course, not in real life! E.g. a multiple
choice exam to test writing skills will take up lots of time preparing for
the multiple-choice and not the teaching of writing skills in a course.

7.Subjective marking

d) Refers to the testing of one element at a time. This may take the form
of a series of questions testing specific grammatical structures.

8.Objective marking

o) A test is said to have this if its content constitutes a representative

sample of the language, skills, structures with which it is meant to be
concerned. These will depend on the purpose of the test.

9.Norm-referencing

p) A test is said to have this if it looks like and tests what it is meant to.
For example a test that is intended on testing pronunciation ability and
does not involve a speaking element will not have this.

10.Positive/negative
backwash

h) A type of test that requires the taker to combine many different

language elements in order to complete a task.

11. Indirect tests

k) A test intended on providing information that will help place the

students level and assign students to different levels.

12. Diagnostic tests

c) Testing which is used to check on the progress of students to see

how far they have mastered what they have learned.

13.
Discrete-point j) A type of scoring which include the personal judgement of the
testing
examiner.
14. Direct tests

b) A test designed to differentiate students in their ability and therefore

suitability for a particular course, e.g. SAT tests in the US.

15. Placement tests

r) At test that attempts to test the abilities that underlie a skill in which

the tester is interested. E.g. asking students to identify erroneous or

inappropriate formal language in a range of examples.
16. Progress test

w) usually used in the middle of a course to ascertain to what extent are

the course objectives being met and to measure the students' progress.

17. Barrier tests

t) A question that requires a learner to provide a specific piece of

information in order to complete it.

18. Achievement tests i) The inclusion of a wide range of question types in order to give the
taker of an exam different conditions under which to prove his/her
ability.
19: Proficiency tests
20. Open
type

a) Used at the end of a term, semester or course to measure what has

been achieved by individuals and groups.

question g) A question that puts fewer restrictions on learners, who can choose
the items with which they complete the question.

21. Closed question l) A test that is direct requires the taker to perform precisely the skill the
type
test wishes to measure.
22.
Formative s) A type of test used to identify a learners strengths and weaknesses.
assessment
They are used to ascertain what learning needs to take place.
23.
Sumative f) Designed to measure someones ability in a language regardless of
assessment
any training that they may have received previously and not based on
the content of objectives of any course.

Key

1O
6H
11 R
16 W
21 T

2I
7J
12 S
17 B
22 C

3P
8U
13 D
18 N
23 A

4Q
9M
14 L
19 F

5V
10 E
15 K
20 G