English Language Testing and

Evaluation
EFL413
 Why test?
Diagnose students strengths and needs
Provide feedback on student learning
Provide a basis for instructional placement
Inform and guide instruction
Communicate learning expectations
Motivate and focus students attention and
effort
Provide practice applying knowledge and skills
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Observations

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test

Assignments

Questionnaires
Interviews
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Journals/logs

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Assignments

Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Projects

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Journals/logs Assignments

Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Portfolios

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Discussions

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Standardized tests

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Discussions Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Discussions Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Standardized tests

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Discussions Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Discussions Projects Standardized tests
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
Standardized tests
 EFL teachers
Should EFL teachers know about linguistics?
Why? Why not?
If you were to take a multiple choice test with
ten questions about basic linguistic
terminology, how many do you think youd get
right?
Write your prediction down.
 Basic Linguistic Terminology
You will see ten multiple choice questions.
You will have 30 seconds to choose an answer.
Write your answers on a piece of paper.

From: http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz691417ecee0.html
How did you feel?
 You and tests
Tests that left you feeling Tests that made you feel
Positive Degraded
Self-confident Anxious
Motivated De-motivated

Why? Why?
 How did you do?
1. Apocope
2. Alphabetism
3. Exonym
4. Prothesis
5. Dissimilation
6. Jakob Grimm
7. Clinical linguistics
8. L1 or First Language
9. Folk etymology
10. Glossolalia
 Three key concepts
Te_____ Testing
As________ Assessment
Te______ Teaching
 What is a test?
What makes a test a test? 4 5 keywords?

A method of

(Brown, 2004)
 What is a test?
What makes a test a test? 4 5 keywords?

A method of measuring a persons ability,

knowledge or performance in a given domain
(Brown, 2004)
 What is a test?
Measure what? How? Performance
General ability / specific Competence (actual use
knowledge of language)
Individual ability and Metalanguage (e.g.
performance grammar); Skills (e.g.
% | AA | Pass/Fail must infer)
have result Domain
The person General competence
Appropriate? (e.g. proficiency)
Interpretation? Specific criteria (e.g.
Relevance? vocabulary,
pronunciation, grammar)
 What makes a good test?

A well-constructed
test is.
 A well-constructed test is an instrument that
provides an accurate measure of a test taker's
ability within a particular domain.
Brown, 2003
 Assessment
Is assessment synonymous with testing?
 Which is which?
Assessment Testing
ongoing process administrative procedure
Generally encompasses a specific times
wide domain curriculum referenced
subconscious impression peak performance
Incidental judgment measured and evaluated
implicit evaluation
 Where is the line
between assessment and testing?
between assessment and teaching?
Which best describes the relationship?

Tests Teaching Assessment

Assessment
Tests

Teaching

Tests

Assessment

Teaching
 The four winds of assessment
Formative Formal

Tests

Informal Summative
What characteristics do these have?
Informal Formal Formative Summative

Nice job!
WW Gr - Sp
Watch out! /id/ not /it/
Progress test
Proficiency test
Student journal
 Testing terminology
Norm referenced

Criterion referenced
 Norm-referenced terminology
standardized tests
Scholastic Achievement Test
rank order
standard deviaton
percentile rank
mean (average score)
median (middle score)
large-scale testing
pre-determined responses
 Criterion referenced terminology
feedback
learning objectives
classroom-based
curriculum
instructional value
 Testing
Philosophy (Order according to Instruments (Match to
history) philosophy)
Communicative Language a. Integrative testing/whole
teaching language (cloze/dictation)
Humanism b. Performance based
(portfolio, collaborative,
Learner centered
interactive)
Behaviourism c. Discrete-point testing
(decontextualized
language broken in parts)
d. Language competence
(authentic tasks)
 Testing
Philosophy (Order according to Instruments (Match to
history) philosophy)
1. Behaviourism 1. Discrete-point testing
2. Humanism (decontextualized
language broken in parts)
3. Communicative Language
2. Integrative testing/whole
teaching language (cloze/dictation)
4. Learner centered 3. Language competence
(authentic tasks)
4. Performance based
(portfolio, collaborative,
interactive)
 MOODLE key=###xxx
Reading and discussion, Brown, 2004, Chapter 1,
pp. 1-11.
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