TEST TECHNIQUESPrepared by: Mitschek, Ariane B.

BSE-ENG3A

1. Direct vs. Indirect TestingTWO APPROACHES TO TEST CONSTRUCTION• Direct Testing – requires the candidate to

perform precisely the skill that the test wishes to measure.

Example:objective: how well candidates pronounce a

languagedirect testing method: get them to speak

Direct testing has a number of attractions:1. It is relatively straightforward to create the

conditions which will elicit the behavior on which judgment will be based.

2. At least in the case of productive skills, the assessment and interpretation of students’ performance are also quite straightforward.

3. Since practice for the test involves practice of the skills to foster, there is likely to be a helpful backwash effect.

• Indirect Testing - attempts to measure the abilities that underlie the skills in which the test is interested.

Example:Grammatical knowledge contributes to writing ability, then a grammar test may be used as an indirect test of writing.

Additional examples:• underlined items which the student needs to

identify as erroneous or inappropriate in formal standard English

• a paper and pencil test in which the student has to identify pairs of words which rhyme with each other (Lado, 1961)

• Semi-direct tests - these tests are semi-direct in the sense that, although not direct, they simulate direct testing.

Example:Candidates respond to tape-recorded stimuli, with their own responses being recorded and later scored.

2. Discrete Point vs. Integrative Testing

• Discrete Point - refers to the testing of one element at a time, item by item.

Example:One-point objective: Testing for the meaning

of a word in isolation.

Choose the correct meaning of the word paralysis.

A. Inability to moveB. State of unconsciousC. State of shockD. Being in pain

• Integrative Testing - requires the candidate to combine many language elements in the completion of a task.

Examples:• writing a composition• making notes while listening to a lecture• taking a dictation• completing a cloze passage.

• Integrative test - refers to an integrative item that would test more than one point of objective at a time.

Example:Instruction:Demonstrate your comprehension of the following words by using them together in a written paragraph: "paralysis," "accident," and "football."

3. Norm-referenced vs. Criterion-referenced Testing

TWO BASIC TYPES OF LANGUAGE TEST• Norm-referenced testing - students' scores

are interpreted relative to each other in a normal distribution scheme (bell curve).

• Criterion-referenced Testing – measures student ability against a predetermined standard.

4. Objective vs. Subjective Testing

• Objective Test – there is only one right answer .

• Subjective Test - the scorer is not looking for only one right answer, but rather for a series of factors.

THANK YOU