ASSIGNMENT OF LANGUAGE TESTING

OBJECTIVE TESTING

GROUP 3
BY : BEN HARD YESAYA (2559)

DEWITA (2583)

WULAN MARIYANI (2584)

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

MAHASARASWATI DENPASAR
YEAR 2010
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Subjective and objective are terms used to refer to the scoring of tests. All
test items, no matter how they are devised, require candidates to exercise a
subjective judgment. Furthermore, all tests are constructed subjectively by the
tester, who decides which areas of language to test, how to test those particular
areas, and what kind of items to use for this purpose. Thus, it is only the scoring
of a test that can be described as objective. This means that a testee will score the
same mark no matter which examiner marks the test.

Since objective tests usually have only one correct answer, they can be
scored mechanically. The fact that objective tests can be marked by computer is
one important reason for their evident popularity among examining bodies
responsible for testing large number of candidates.

Then, we can clarify about the difference between subjective and objective that,

Objective items: require students to select the correct response from several
alternatives or supply a word or short phrase to answer a question. Include
multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and completion items.
Subjective items: require students to write and present an original answer.
Include short-answer essay, extended-response essay, problem solving, and
performance tasks.

On the whole, objective tests require far more careful preparation than
subjective tests. Examiners tend to spend a relatively short time on setting the
questions but considerable time on marking. That means in an objective test the
tester spends a great deal of time constructing each item as carefully as possible,
attempting to anticipate the various reactions of the testees at each stage. The
effort is rewarded, however, in the case of the marking.
 CHAPTER II
OBJECTIVE TESTS

Objective tests are frequently criticized on the grounds that they are simpler
to answer than subjective tests. Items in an objective test, however, can be made
just as easy or as difficult as the test constructor. Objective tests can be pre-tested
before being administered on a wider basis: i.e. they are given to a small but truly
representative sample of the test population and then each item is evaluated in the
light of the testee’s performance.

An objective test will be a very poor tests if:

- The test items are poorly written
- Irrelevant areas and skills are emphasized in the test simply because they
are “testable”
- It is confined to language-based usage and neglects the communicative
skills involved

2.1. Multiple-choice items

Multiple choice items are the traditional 'choose one from a list' of
possible answers. It means that four or five alternatives for each item are
sufficient to reduce the possibility of guessing.
Multiple choice items can provide a useful means of teaching and testing
in various learning situations (particularly at the lower level) provided that it
is always recognized that such items test knowledge of grammar, vocabulary,
etc. rather than to use a language. Although they rarely measure
communication as such, they can prove useful measuring student’s ability to
recognize correct grammatical forms, etc. and to make important
discriminations in the target language. In doing this, multiple choice items
can help both student and teacher to identify areas of difficulty.

2.1.1. Principles to construct Multiple choice items

1. Each multiple choice item should have only one answer.
Example:
The farmers make a ……….to frighten the birds in the rice farm.
a. toys c. scare crow
b. noises d. rake
The correct answer is C (only one key answer)

2. Only feature at a time should be tested.

Example:
You and I are having breakfast,…..?
a. are you c. aren’t we
b. are we d. didn’t they
This principle means that there must be one skill is emphasized.
 3. Each option should be grammatically correct when placed in the
stem.
Example:
Someone who take care of the patient in the hospital is……
a. a doctor c. a dentist
b. a nurse d. a surgeon
Each options must be grammatically correct.

4. All multiple-choice items should be at a level appropriate to the

proficiency level of the testees.
Example:
Test for 9th grade
“You will find this in the pocket of the seat….”
What does this refer to?
a. passenger b. the card c. seat d. pocket
The options must be as same as level as students proficiency

5. Multiple-choice items should be as brief and as clear as possible

(though it is desirable to provide short contexts for grammar items).
Example:
Who is the …………..girl in your class?
a. higher b. highest c. taller
d.tallest
The test item must be as concise and clear as possible.

6. In many test, items are arranged in rough order of increasing

difficulty.
Example:
When I went through customs, nobody………..my passport.
a. checked c. looked
b. controlled d. watched
All options must be less difficult than the key answer.

2.1.2. Writing Stem

 Stem is the text of the question. The primary purpose of the stem is
to present the problem clearly and concisely. The stem should not contain
extraneous information or irrelevant clues, thereby confusing the problem
being tested. Although the stem should be short, it should be convey
enough information to indicate the basis on which the correct option
should be selected.
 The stem may take the following forms:
a. An incomplete statement
Example:
Mark ………….a lot of great photos on his holiday.
A. took B. did C. put D. had

b. A complete statement
 Example:
We don’t get this program from radio.
a. News b. advertisement c. entertainment d. life show

c. A question
Example:
Which of these is a passive sentence?
a. He’s been there
b. He’s been taken there
c. He’s been going there
d. He will have been there

 The stem should be usually contain those words or phrases which would
otherwise have to be repeated in each option.
Example:
“Cabin” is used in the passage above to refer to a room for
a. operator b. pilot c. waitress d. passenger

 The stem should allow for the number of choices which have been decided
upon.

2.1.3. Constructing The Key

The key is the correct answer in the list of options. The correct option
should be approximately the same length as the distracters. This principle
applies especially to vocabulary tests and tests of reading and listening
comprehension, where there is a tendency to make the correct option longer
than the distracters simply because it is so often necessary to qualify a
statement or word in order to make it absolutely correct.
For example:
He began to choke while he was eating the fish
A. die
B. cough and vomit
C. be unable to breathe because of something in the windpipe
D. grow very angry

2.1.4. Constructing The Distracters

The distracters are the incorrect answer in the list option. Distracters
should be reasonably attractive and plausible. It should be appear right to any
testee who is unsure of the correct option. Each distracter should be
grammatically correct when it stands by itself: otherwise testees will be
exposed to incorrect forms. The following item contains two absurd items:
How did Picard first travel in space?
A. He travelled in a space-ship
B. He used a large balloon
C. He went in a submarine
D. He jumped from a tall building
 Unless a distracters is a attractive to the student who is not sure of the
correct answer, its inclusion in a test item is superfluous. Plausible distracters
are best based on:
a. Mistakes in the students’ own written work
b. Their answers in previous tests
c. The teacher’s experience
d. A contrastive analysis between the native and target languages

Distracters should not be too difficult nor demand a higher

proficiency in the language than the correct option. If they are too
difficult, they will succeed only in distracting the good student, who will
be led into considering the correct option too easy and trap. There is a
tendency for this to happen, particularly in vocabulary test items.
Example:
You need a ……………to enter that military airfield.
A. permutation B. perdition C. permit D. perspiculty

2.2. Writing the test

Where multiple-choice items are used, the testees may be required to
perform any of the following tasks:
1. Write out the correct option in full in the blank
They were all__________so they went to a restaurant.
a. hungry c. thirsty
b. angry d. fat

2. Write only the letter of the correct option in the blank or in a box
(which may appear at the side of the question, etc)
They were all..... .......so they went to a restaurant.
a. hungry c. thirsty
b. angry d. fat

3. Put a tick or cross at the side of the correct option or in a separate box
They were all………..so they went to a restaurant.
a. hungry A.
b. angry B.
c. thirsty C.
d. fat D.

4. Underline the correct option

They were all………..so they went to a restaurant.
a. hungry c. thirsty
b. angry d. fat

5. Put a circle round the letter at the side of the correct option
They were all………..so they went to a restaurant.
a. hungry c. thirsty
b. angry d. fat
 CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION

1. Objective tests require far more careful preparation than subjective tests, but
easy for scoring.
2. Parts of a multiple choice question are stem, options, the key and distracters.
3. There are six principles to construct multiple choices items.