7

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST

RIVERA, TRICIA MAE I.

Readings:
12 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TEST
A good test should be:
1- Valid:
It means that it measures what it is supposed to measure. It tests what it ought to test.
A good test which measures control of grammar should have no difficult lexical items.
2- Reliable:
If it is taken again by (same students, same conditions ), the score will be almost the
same regarding that the time between the test and the retest is of reasonable length.
If it is given twice to same students under the same circumstances, it will produce
almost the same results. In this case it is said that the test provides consistency in
measuring the items being evaluated.
3- Practical:
It is easy to be conducted, easy to score without wasting too much time or effort.
4- Comprehensive:
It covers all the items that have been taught or studied. It includes items from different
areas of the material assigned for the test so as to check accurately the amount of
students knowledge
5- Relevant:
It measures reasonably well the achievement of the desired objectives.
6- Balanced:
It tests linguistic as well as communicative competence and it reflects the real
command of the language. It tests also appropriateness and accuracy.

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST

7- Appropriate in difficulty:
It is neither too hard nor too easy. Questions should be progressive in difficulty to
reduce stress and tension
8- Clear:
Questions and instructions should be clear. Pupils should know what to do exactly.
9- Authentic:
The language of the test should reflect everyday discourse
10- Appropriate for time:
A good test should be appropriate in length for the allotted time.
11- Objective:
If it is marked by different teachers, the score will be the same. Marking process
should not be affected by the teachers personality. Questions and answers are so
clear and definite that the marker would give the students the score he/she deserves.
12- Economical:
It makes the best use of the teachers limited time for preparing and grading and it
makes the best use of the pupils assigned time for answering all items. So, we can
say that oral exams in classes of +30 students are not economical as it requires too
much time and effort to be conducted.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD TEST: THREE VERSIONS
Objectivity
A test is said to be objective if it is free from personal biases in interpreting its
scope as well as in scoring the responses.
Objectivity of a test can be increased by using more objective type test items
and the answers are scored according to model answers provided.

Objective Basedness
The test should be based on pre-determined objectives.
The test setter should have definite idea about the objective behind each
item.

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST

Comprehensiveness
The test should cover the whole syllabus.
Due importance should be given all the relevant learning materials.
Test should be cover all the anticipated objectives.
Validity
A said to be valid if it measures what it intends to measure.
There are different types of validity:
Operational Validity
A test will have operational validity if the tasks required by the test are
sufficient to evaluate the definite activities or qualities.
Predictive Validity
A test has predictive validity if scores on it predict future performance
Content Validity
If the items in the test constitute a representative sample of the total
course content to be tested, the test can be said to have content
validity.
Construct Validity
Construct validity involves explaining the test scores psychologically. A test is
interpreted in terms of numerous research findings.
Reliability
Reliability of a test refers to the degree of consistency with which it measures
what it indented to measure.
A test may be reliable but need not be valid. This is because it may yield
consistent scores, but these scores need not be representing what exactly we
want to measure.
A test with high validity has to be reliable also. (the scores will be consistent in
both cases)
Valid test is also a reliable test, but a reliable test may not be a valid one
Different method for determining Reliability
Test-retest method
A test is administrated to the same group with short interval. The scores are
tabulated and correlation is calculated. The higher the correlation, the more the
reliability.
Split-half method

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST
The scores of the odd and even items are taken and the correlation between
the two sets of scores determined.
Parallel form method
Reliability is determined using two equivalent forms of the same test content.
These prepared tests are administrated to the same group one after the
other.
The test forms should be identical with respect to the number of items,
content, difficult level etc.
Determining the correlation between the two sets of scores obtained by the
group in the two tests.
If higher the correlation, the more the reliability.
Discriminating Power
Discriminating power of the test is its power to discriminate between the
upper and lower groups who took the test.
The test should contain different difficulty level of questions.
Practicability
Practicability of the test depends up on...
Administrative ease
Scoring ease
Interpretative ease
Economy
Comparability
A test possesses comparability when scores resulting from its use can be
interpreted in terms of a common base that has a natural or accepted
meanings
There are two method for establishing comparability
Availability of equivalent (parallel) form of test
Availability of adequate norms

Utility
A test has utility if it provides the test condition that would facilitate realization
of the purpose for which it is mean.

Tests are better, if they are relatively objective. A test is objective, if using the same
scoring key whoever scores the test will arrive at the same score assuming no
clerical errors. Objective test items are usually multiple choice, matching or true-false.
In contrast, essay questions are typically subjective. This means that different people
or the same person in a different mood will tend to score the same essay

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST
answers differently. However, with more exact standards of scoring, essay questions
can be relatively objective. Scorer bias will be reduced, and essentially the test will be
objective there will be consistency among scorers.
A good test should also be relatively reliable. As long as the quality being measured
has not changed, this means that any person should get about the same score each
time they take the test. However, to be reliable, the test must be relatively objective.
How can you obtain consistency among the scores you earn from one time to the
next, if the scorers are inconsistent?
A third quality a good test should have is validity. To be valid, a test should measure
what it claims to measure. Although it needs to be relatively reliable to be valid,
merely because it is reliable does not mean that it will be valid.
Suppose I were to give a man an intelligence test by measuring his height. I use a
tape measure three different times, and each time, I get a measure of 5'5". His scores
are completely consistent. Is my test valid? Probably not. I cannot really measure
intelligence with a tape measure. Even though my test is perfectly reliable, it is not
necessarily valid.
On the other hand, how can we measure what we claim to measure (validity), if the
measurements are not consistent (reliability)? Thus relative reliability is needed for a
test to be valid.In contrast to absolute measures, tests only give a relative ranking in
terms of group norms.
Finally, any good test must have standardization. This means that the same
procedures and conditions are used each time the test is given. Such things as
instructions, time limits, lighting and so on are the same for each administration. If this
is the case, all those who take the test can be used as part of the
standardization norms. With any measurement, you can only rate a person as high,
low or average in relations to a set of norms. The problem is "Which norm?" If you
want to judge yourself in terms of height, you wouldn't want to use basketball players
as your norm group.
The question, "Which norm?" causes a big problem with intelligence testing. The most
frequently used intelligence tests take "middle-class WASPs" (White, Anglo-Saxon,
Protestants) as their norm, assuming that everyone has similar background and
learning experiences in our society. However, this does not accurately apply to many
minority members, such as African-Americans, Hispanics or American Indians. This is
especially true, if they are from different backgrounds, like the ghetto, barrio or
reservation, respectively. The assumption of similar backgrounds does not apply in
these cases. Because of this, when members of these groups are compared to
general norms, they may be falsely labeled as slow learners or even mentally

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST
retarded. However, when compared with norms of others from a similar background,
many of these people may earn scores that indicate high potential.
Thus, if you come from a background different from "middle-class WASP" and take a
"standardized" test, before judging yourself from the results, find out what group is
being used as a norm.
NORM REFERENCED TEST & CRITERION REFERENCED TEST
Norm Referenced Test
Norm Referenced Test is a test which compares the individuals performance
with those other persons taking the same test.
Criterion Referenced Test
Criterion Referenced Test evaluates an individuals performance in a given
situation with respect to specific characteristics expected in the performance.
A COMPARISON OF CRITERION REFERENCED TEST & NORM REFERENCED
TEST
Criterion Referenced Test
The Main Objective to measure the effectiveness of a programme or
instruction.
Provides specific information in individual level of performance with respect to
objectives
The score of an individual can be interpreted individually
The purpose is not classify and rank learners, but to ensure development
The results are used to evaluate student performance relative to specific
performance level anticipated.
The test constructor is not concerned with developing a test to maximize the
variability of test scores
Norm Referenced Test
The main Objective to measure individual differences
Aim to classify and grade learners in various categories
The meaning of any particular score can be determined only by comparing it to
other scores achieved by student taking in the test
It is often used for selection purposes.
The test results are used for making comparative decision regarding
individuals
It is specially constructed to maximize the variability of test scores, as the
purpose is discriminating of individuals by comparison

CHARACTERISTIC OF TEST

Question:
19. In taking the test not one examinee approached the proctor for clarification on
what to do. This implies which characteristic of a good test?
A. Scorability
B. Administrability
C. Objectivity
D. Economy

References:
Retrieved from: https://eltguide.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/12-characteristics-of-agood-test/
Retrieved from:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_characteristics_of_a_good_test#ixzz1z6Ur1
PwA