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TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

Test is one form of an assessment. It is a method to determine a students

ability to complete certain tasks or demonstrate mastery of a skill or knowledge of

content. Some types would be multiple choice tests, or a weekly spelling test.

Test is the most commonly used method of making measurements in education.

It is also an instrument or systematic procedures for measuring sample of

behavior by posing a set of questions in a uniform manner. It is designed to

measure any quality, ability, skill or knowledge. There is right or wrong answer.

Assessment is the process of gathering information to monitor progress

and make educational decisions if necessary. It is a process by which evidence

of student achievement is obtained and evaluated. Information is obtained

relative to objective it include testing, interpreting and placing information in

context. It is the process of gathering and organizing datathe basis for decision

making (evaluation). Methods of measuring and evaluating the nature of the

learner (what he learned, how he learned)

2. MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

Measurement is the assignment of numbers (quantity), uses variety of

instrument: test, rating scale. It is the process of obtaining numerical description

of the degree of individual possesses. It is the method of quantifying of how

much does learner learned.

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 Evaluation is a process because it includes a series of steps (*establishing

objective,*classifying objective, *defining objective, *selecting indicators, *and

comparing data with objectives). It is concerned with making judgments on the

worth or value of a performance, answer the question how good, adequate, or

desirable. It is also the process of obtaining, analyzing and interpreting

information to determent the extent to which students achieve instructional

objective.

Inherent in the idea of evaluation is "value." When we evaluate, what we

are doing is engaging in some process that is designed to provide information

that will help us make a judgment about a given situation. Generally, any

evaluation process requires information about the situation in question. A

situation is an umbrella term that takes into account such ideas as objectives,

goals, standards, procedures, and so on. When we evaluate, we are saying that

the process will yield information regarding the worthiness, appropriateness,

goodness, validity, legality, etc., of something for which a reliable measurement

or assessment has been made.

3. FORMAL AND INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

There are two general categories of assessments: formal and informal.

Formal assessments have data which support the conclusions made from

the test. We usually refer to these types of tests as standardized measures.

These tests have been tried before on students and have statistics which support

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the conclusion such as the student is reading below average for his age. The

data is mathematically computed and summarized. Scores such as percentiles or

standard scores are mostly commonly given from this type of assessment.

They are designed to be given according to a standard set of

circumstances, they have time limits, and they have sets of directions which are

to be followed exactly.

Informal assessments are not data driven but rather content and

performance driven. For example, running records are informal assessments

because they indicate how well a student is reading a specific book. Scores such

as 10 correct out of 15, percent of words read correctly, and most rubric scores

are given from this type of assessment.

They generally do not have a set of standard directions. They have a great

deal of flexibility in how they are administered. They represent a lack of validity

and reliability.

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE

Formative tests measure the students grasp of material that is currently

being taught. Formative tests help guide and inform instruction and learning. It is

used to monitor student attainment of the instructional objective. -- test usually

given after instruction

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 The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide

ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and

by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments:

help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas

that need work

help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address

problems immediately

Formative assessments are generally low stakes, which means that they

have low or no point value. Examples of formative assessments include asking

students to:

draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topic

submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture

turn in a research proposal for early feedback

Summative Tests are meant to measure what the student has learned,

frequently in order to produce marks or grades used for reports of different types.

These are done at the conclusion of instruction and measures the extent to which

students has attained the desires outcomes. It is usually given or taken monthly.

The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the

end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

Summative assessments are often high stakes, which means that they have a

high point value. Examples of summative assessments include:

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 a midterm exam

a final project

a paper

a senior recital

Information from summative assessments can be used formatively when

students or faculty use it to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent

courses.

4. TYPES OF ASSESSMENT

a. Achievement Test

Also called an attainment or summative test, an achievement test aims to

measure what has been learnt over a longer period of time than a diagnostic

test. End of course school tests, as well as externally set exams, show the

standard reached and results can be compared to other students. An

achievement test doesnt relate to a particular course book, but to the aims of

the syllabus. International exams such as the Cambridge ESOL suite are an

example where the standard required to pass is consistent year to year. A

problem with these tests is that you cannot examine everything in the course

in a few hours, so you have to choose samples. There may be one discrete

item on the third conditional and none on other conditional forms. Does the

test assume that a student getting this item correct can also use the other

forms?
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b. Diagnostic Test

A diagnostic (also known as formative or progress) test lets you and the

students know how well they have learnt particular course elements and are

typically done at the end of course book units or recent classwork. The test

content and question types should be familiar to students and you should

expect a high degree of success as they know whats in the test. The results

also show which areas need revising with the class or individuals.

c. Placement Test

The aim of a placement test is to help sort new students into teaching groups

of roughly the same level. As they are not related to any particular course

taken these tests often start simply and get more difficult to cater for a range

of abilities. We want to know their general standard rather than test specific

language points and a variety of test activities will give us better results than a

single assessment. The subject matter of any reading and listening texts,

speaking and writing tasks is usually based on common human experience

something everyone can relate to. An interview is useful as we can gauge the

students spoken accuracy and fluency at the same time as putting a face to a

filing number.

d. Proficiency Test

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 Cambridge IELTS and the American TOEFL tests are proficiency tests in that

they aim to provide a snapshot of a candidates ability to apply what they

know. Such tests have a future orientation and are often used by further

education bodies, employers and immigration authorities to determine

acceptable standards for applicants. The question asked is whether their

English is good enough to cope with foreseen demands and a way to try and

assess this is by representative testing and purposive testing. The former is

concerned more with the quality of language. You might assume that correctly

filling in a cloze passage means the student grasps the structure of the

language. The latter focuses on effectiveness of communication. Can the

student write an appropriate letter or follow instructions.

e. Aptitude Test

An examination that attempts to determine and measure a persons ability to

acquire, through future training, some specific set of skills (intellectual, motor,

and so on). The tests assume that people differ in their special abilities and

that these differences can be useful in predicting future achievements.

General, or multiple, aptitude tests are similar to intelligence tests in that they

measure a broad spectrum of abilities (e.g., verbal comprehension, general

reasoning, numerical operations, perceptual speed, or mechanical

knowledge). The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American

College Testing Exam (ACT) are examples of group tests commonly used in

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 the United States to gauge general academic ability; in France the

International Baccalaureate exam (le bac) is taken by secondary-school

students. Such tests yield a profile of scores rather than a single IQ and are

widely used in educational and vocational counseling. Aptitude tests also

have been developed to measure professional potential (e.g., legal or

medical) and special abilities (e.g., clerical or mechanical). The Differential

Aptitude Test (DAT) measures specific abilities such as clerical speed and

mechanical reasoning as well as general academic ability.

f. TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language

The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at

the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening,

reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.

g. IELTS - International English Language Testing System

IELTS test content is developed by an international team of experts and

undergoes extensive research to ensure the test remains fair and unbiased

for any candidate regardless of nationality, background, gender, lifestyle or

location.

IELTS is a test of all four language skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and

Speaking. You will take the Listening, Reading and Writing tests all on the

same day one after the other, with no breaks in between. Depending on your

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 test centre, your Speaking test may be on the same day as the other three

tests, or up to seven days before or after that. The total test time is under

three hours.

h. TOEIC - Test of English for International Communication

The TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) Program was

conceived in Japan and created by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a

U.S. nonprofit test development institution, as a common global yardstick for

measuring English skills. Since the first TOEIC Secure Program (SP) test was

implemented in December 1979, the test has been adopted not only

throughout Japan but around the world as the global standard for English

communication skill assessment. Many companies, schools, and other

organizations, as well as individuals, are currently utilizing the test as an

effective way to raise the motivation to study, and as an opportunity to check

the English skill levels of their workers and students. The test is administered

in some 150 countries around the world.

i. CEM - Center for Educational Measurement

The Center for Educational Measurement (CEM) provides testing services for

the evaluation and assessment needs of both private and public sectors of

education in the Philippines.

CEM offers more than 60 tests that assess:

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 achievement

aptitude

career choices

CEM services different levels of education from elementary to professional

schools with more than 700 current member-schools. CEM has a current

network of two branches and 18 test centers nationwide.

As a complement to its testing services, CEM holds instructional and advisory

programs for teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators. The

programs are designed to augment a school's agenda for professional

development.

CEM's methodology in developing tests focuses on understanding how

students learn. Its ultimate goal is to help educators create and propagate

knowledge about the growth of the learner by linking research and practice in

classroom-based assessment.

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5. LANGUAGE TEACHING and LANGUAGE TESTING

Language Testing is the practice and study of evaluating the proficiency of

an individual in using a particular language effectively. (Priscilla Allen, University

of Washington)

This is the activity of developing and using language tests. As a

psychometric activity, language testing traditionally was more concerned with the

production, development and analysis of tests. Recent critical and ethical

approaches to language testing have placed more emphasis on the uses of

language tests. The purpose of a language test is to determine a persons

knowledge and/or ability in the language and to discriminate that persons ability

from that of others. (Alan Davies, University of Edinburgh)

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 Language teaching, short form LT. In principle, instruction in any language,

under any conditions, formal or informal; in practice, as the term is commonly

used among language teachers and applied linguists, instruction in a second or

foreign language within a system of education, such as the institutionalized

teaching of French in Britain and English in France. More specifically, the

teaching of a mother tongue, home language, or national language may be

referred to as L1 teaching (where L1 means first language) and the teaching of

one or more other languages as L2 teaching (where L2 means second

language).

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