Types of Tests
Used to identify existing strengths and weaknesses in order to help teachers tailor instruction to fit the learners’ needs
What is a Diagnostic Test?
Provides feedback to the learner and teacher about student’s progress
What is an Instructional purpose?
The extent to which a test corresponds to the content being assessed and the conclusions and inferences are appropriate, meaningful and truthful
What is validity?
Performance is determined based on comparison to a peer group
What is norm-referenced?
A group of people who have a vested or intense interest in the outcome of testing
What are stakeholders?
Used to assign learners to appropriate levels of instruction within a particular program: such tests are related to course objectives.
What is a Placement Test?
Provides information about which part of the curriculum new students should be placed for instruction
What is an administrative purpose?
A type of validity which measures to worth on a test based on its comparison to another similar test.
What is concurrent validity?
Overall scores of all test takers are distributed evenly around a mean score in the shape of a bell
What is a norm-referenced test?
The impact that testing has on teaching and learning in the classroom
What is washback?
Used to determine the learners general ability to learn prior to actual instruction
What is an Aptitude Test?
Helps provide information about the overall quality of a program.
What is a research purpose?
The precision and consistency of a measurement instrument.
What is reliability?
Performance is based on comparison to a standard
What is a criterion-referenced test?
One is a picture of learner knowledge or performance at a single point of time as opposed to a systematic collection of results from multiple measures of learner knowledge, skills, and performance progress over time.
What is the difference between a test and assessment?
Used during a course of study to provide information about the learner’s relative mastery or difficulty with portions of the curriculum.
What is a Progress Test?
Helps to decide a learner’s completion of movement through a program (promotion)
What is an administrative purpose?
A type of reliability that indicates the test performance is stable over time: the same or similar results are found when the same group of learners take the same test again
What is test-retest reliability?
Theoretically, all test takers can meet achieve 100%
What is a criterion-referenced test?
An assessment or test that aims to measure student progress or growth usually at the end of a unit of instruction as opposed to an assessment the provides monitoring information and immediate feedback as students are in process of developing skills and proficiencies
What is the difference between a summative and formative assessment?
Used to assess a learners general competence and or skill in a language—not related to a specific curriculum; assesses current and prior acquisition
What is a Proficiency Test?
Helps provide knowledge about language learning and/or language usage.
What is a research purpose?
Indicates that the test is an accurate reflection of an underlying theory of which is purported to measure.
What is construct validity?
Standardized and usually high-stakes tests
What are both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests?
A test item that attempts to isolate single skill or linguistic knowledge as opposed to test item that incorporates multiple skills or components of language
What is the difference between a discrete point and an integrative test item?