Characteristics of a Good Test/

Principles of language Assessment

COMPILED BY NURMALA HENDRAWATY, M.PD

Good test possess three qualities:

1. 2. 3.

Reliability Validity Practicality

The purpose is to get a dependable, objective, and applicable test.

RELIABILITY
Reliability means the stability of test scores.

A reliable test is consistent and dependable. It means if you give to the same student or matched students on two different occasions, the test should yield similar results.

TYPES OF ESTIMATES OF RELIABILITY

1.

2. 3.

By retesting the same individuals with the same test; Computing reliability; Estimating the consistency with statistical techniques such as a split-half method (Spearman Brown) and rational equivalence by Kuder and Richardson (KR-20, KR-21)

FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNRELIABILITY OF A TEST:

Student-Related Reliability The most common issue is caused by temporary illness, fatigue, anxiety, and other physical or psychological factors. Test administration Reliability because of street noise outside the building; students sitting next to the windows could not hear the tape accurately; The amount of lighting in different parts of the room, variations in temperature, and even the condition of desks and chairs.

VALIDITY
Validity is the degree to which a test measures. It measures what it is supposed to measure. Types of Validity: 1. Content Validity 2. Empirical Validity 3. Face Validity

CONTENT VALIDITY

It is designed to measure mastery of a specific skill or the content of a particular course of study.

EMPIRICAL VALIDITY
It is used to determine how test scores are related to some independent such as marks given at the end of a course or instructors or supervisors rating. The general types of empirical validity: 1. Predictive Validity is used to assess or to predict in the case of placement test or aptitude test. 2. Concurrent Validity means that if the results are supported by other concurrent performance beyond the assessment itself.

FACE VALIDITY
Face validity refers to the degree to which a test looks right and appears to measure the knowledge or abilities. Face validity will likely be high if learners encounter: a well-constructed, expected format with familiar tasks; items that are clear and uncomplicated; tasks that relate to their course work (content validity).

Content validity is a very important

CONSTRUCT VALIDITY
Construct validity is a major issue in validating large-scale standardized tests of proficiency. Because such tests must for economic reasons and adhere to the principle of practicality. The example of construct validity is TOEFL.

PRACTICALITY
An effective test is practical or usable. This means that it is not excessively expensive, stays within appropriate time constraints, Is relatively easy to administer, Has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient.

Thank You