Assessment

CHAPTER ONE
BASIC ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS
Assessment is a topic of concern to language Teacher. Although teachers are
primarily concerned with teaching rather than assessing they must
periodically measure their students' performance. This chapter introduces the
students to the basic assessment concepts as raised by the following
questions:
Why do we assess?
How do we assess?
What do we assess?
When do we assess?
1.1 WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?
The title 'assessment' has been chosen instead of testing for its wider view. For
a language teacher 'assessment includes any means of checking what students
can do with the language. It also includes what they cannot do, but proper
assessment gives due weight to the positive side of their achievement.
Assessment may be carried out before, during or after a course, or it may not
even be connected with a course. Assessment may be of individual I students
or it may be to check the capability of a whole class. This means that
assessment is concerned with teaching as well as learning.
1.2 WHY DO WE ASSESS?
There is no universally good way of assessing. What and how you assess
should obviously depend on your purpose. We can distinguish at least seven
important purposes of assessment which indicate seven different emphases in
measuring student and potential. There is, however, some overlap among
them A single test may have more than one purpose but the more multi-
purpose it is the less satisfactory it is likely to be.
1. Placement - to place or classify students on a suitable course.
2. Diagnosis to specify the student's particular Strengths and weaknesses
3. Selection - to select as fairly as possible the best Candidates for a limited
number of places or jobs or for higher education.
4. Evaluation- to evaluate the effectiveness of the syllabus as well as the
method of teaching so as to make adjustments when needed.
5. Progress - to assess what the students have learned of the speci ic syllabus
and what progress they have made.
6. Prediction - to discover potential abilities and 'aptitudes and to predict
probable future successes whether in school or outside.
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 7. Accreditation - to provide evidence that the student has undergone a
course of training or study and is quali ied to practice his profession.
TYPES OF TESTS
Consequently, these different purposes of assessment can be realized by four
major type language tests:
(1) Achievement/Attainment Tests
These tests can be further subdivided into class progress tests and
achievement tests.
Class progress tests
The progress test is designed to measure the extent to which the students
have mastered the material taught in the classroom. It is based on the
language programme which the class has been following. Its aim is to
stimulate learning and to reinforce what has been taught. The progress test
enables the teacher to become more familiar with the work of each of his
students and with the progress of the class in general.
Achievement tests
Achievement tests, though similar to progress tests in some ways, are far more
formal tests and are intended to measure achievement on a larger scale. Most
annual school examinations, and all public examinations which are intended
to show mastery of a particular syllabus are of this type.
(2) Pro iciency tests
The pro iciency tests also measure what testees have learnt but they are in no
way related to any syllabus or teaching programme. These tests are concerned
simply with measuring the student's control of the language in the light of
what he will be expected to do with it in his future performance of a particular
task. In other words, language tests of this type aim to assess global ability.
Typically, pro iciency tests are used in the placing of individuals in learning
groups appropriate to their level of knowledge-beginner, intermediate,
advanced, There are several internationally organized pro iciency tests in
English. Among the best known are the TOEFL and the ELTS:
(3) Aptitude tests:
A language aptitude test (or prognostic test) is designed measure the
student's probable performance in a foreign language which he has not
started to learn. Aptitude tests generally seek to predict the student probable
strengths and weaknesses in learning foreign languages. By measuring his
performance in an arti icial language. Language learning aptitude consists of
many factors including: intelligence, motivation, age, memory, etc.
(4) Diagnostic tests
Although the term, diagnostic tests' is widely used few tests are constructed
solely as diagnostic tests. Achievements and pro iciency tests are frequently
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 used for diagnostic purposes. The aim is to ind out the strong and weak
points of the class as a whole and individual student so that appropriate;
remedial action can be taken.
1:3 HOW DO WE ASSESS?
The question about how to assess answered either in terms of describing the
variety of testing techniques or the consideration of a series of con licting
modes of assessment ,We may identify some of the major ones as follows:
Formal vs Informal
Formative vs Summative
Continuous vs Terminal
Internal vs External
Coursework vs Examination
Although the distinction made are sometimes too ine and there is often
considered overlap between the modes, this contrasting presentation is
signi icant for the construction of assessment.
Formal and informal assessment
• Formal assessment is standardized, large-scale tests which are
prepared by professional testing institutions in the selection, thousands
of students for the purpose of selection or placement and evaluation of
students.
• Informal assessment is often used diagnostically by the teacher to
obtain reliable insights about the students’ ability and state of
development.
Formative and summative assessment
• Formative assessment: helps to show which aspects the student has
mastered and where remedial work is necessary. The tests are to be
given during the course of instruction.
• The Summative assessment: on the other hand is usually given at the
end of the course to measure the sum total of the material covered.
Continuous VS terminal assessment:
• Continuous assessment means continuous updating of judgments
about students’ performance in relation to speci ic subject.
• Terminal assessment means assessment that takes place at the end of
the course.

The two modes could be put together to form some inal assessment.

Internal vs External assessment

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Internal assessment is usually carried out by the teacher of the subject once
a month or a year to check students’ progress.
External assessment is usually constructed by a team of specialists or an
organization outside the school and applied on thousands of students for the
purpose of selection or placement.

Coursework vs Examination
• Examinations are either school examination constructed by the teacher
or teachers of the subject in a given school, or ministry examinations
constructed and administrated by the ministry of education.
• Coursework is work completed by the students under the supervision of
their teachers. For example assignment, ield work

1.4 WHAT DO WE ASSESS?

Clearly the answer to this question is language. When analyzing the language
being tested we have to consider the whole system of language skills and
components. Indeed language skills are so complex and so related to each
others that it may seem impossible to separate them for the purpose of any
kind of assessment. Four major skills in communicating through language are
often broadly de ined as listening; speaking reading and writing. Ways of
assessing performance in these skills may take the form of tests
1.Listening comprehension
including, phoneme discrimination , stress and intonation as well as recorded
texts followed by questions of varying techniques.
2. Speaking ability – in the form of an interview, picture-description or
roleplaying.
3. Reading comprehension - in which questions are given to test students'
ability to understand text by applying certain cognitive skills as scanning,
skimming, and drawing conclusions.
4. A Writing ability - usually in the form of letters, instructions, accounts of
past events, ...etc.
The linguistic components of the forgoing skills are: grammar, vocabulary and
phonology. These elements may be isolated for teaching and testing purposes
as in the following examples:
Test of phonology
Which vowel sound is different?
A. go. *B. got. C. close. D. smoke
Test of grammar
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You would get better soon if you ---- a doctor.
A. see. *B. saw. C. are seeing D. had seen
Test of vocabulary
To …- someone means to save him from danger.
A. praise. B. injure. *C. rescue. D. murder
.
1.5 WHEN DO WE ASSESS?
It is important to determine when to assess, as it is important to determine
how and what to assess. The three terms 'terminal, periodic and 'continuous'
assessments are often used. Assessment can be introduced at different stages
of a course of study.

1. Terminal of inal simply means assessment that takes place at the end
of a predetermined period or unit, as, for example, a school year or a
course of study. It ought therefore, to concern itself with the whole of
what is being taught.
2. Periodic assessment measures levels achievement reached at
predetermined intervals throughout the course.

3. Continuous assessment is given to have a continuous updating of

judgement about a student's performance. A well-designed lexible
programme of continuous assessment would be perfectly appropriate
for a cyclical subject like English language, whereas it might be
impracticable for a linear subject like Geography. Continuous
assessment, thus, helps make assessment an integral part of the
teaching/learning process.

CHAPTER TWO
APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT
Modern theories about the nature of language seem to in luence theories
about language learning. Which in turn in luence ways, and methods of
teaching and testing. The direction of in luence is usually from linguistic
theory to learning theory to teaching methods and eventually to testing.
2.1 THE ESSAY-TRANSLATION APPROACH
This approach is referred to as the pre-scienti ic stage of language testing. No
special skill in testing is required. There is a lack of concern for objectivity and
for test reliability. The tests are mainly written exercises: translation,
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composition, and grammatical analysis and sometimes, an aural/oral
component.
2.2 THE STRUCTURALIST APPROACH
This approach is mainly characterized by the view that testing can be
objective, precise, reliable and scienti ic Spolsky (1975). Objective tests have
been developed, the most widely used being the multiple-choice items.
Statistical methods have been improved to measure the reliability and validity
of tests Contrastive analysis is also used to identify Problems faced by second
or foreign learners. The tests measure the learners’ mastery of the separate
elements of the language: phonology, vocabulary and grammar. The skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing are also tested separately. The best
example of these tests is the TOEFL (Test of English Foreign Language).
Students have to complete or correct these sentences by selecting or supplying
the correct answers as in the following examples of structure and vocabulary:
1. I want _____ home now.
A. to go B. go
C. going D. Went
2. She needs to get up earlier so she’s buying ____ clock
A. a time B. a bell
C. a watch D. an alarm
2.3 THE INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
This approach involves the testing of language in context and in concerned
with meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse. Thus, it is the
exact reverse of analytical assessment since it attempts to assess several
elements and perhaps skills at the same time. Integrative tests are best
characterized by the use of cloze testing which re lects the best feature of the
two approaches: analytical and integrative. From a text, words are removed at
regular intervals The examinee has to ill in the missing words. Thus, the task
is holistic i.e., grammar and vocabulary and overall meaning are tested
simultaneously-but the scoring is objective. Other types of integrative tests are
dictation, oral interviews and composition writing, which will be dealt with
later in this book.
The following is an example of a cloze test in which every seventh word has
been deleted.
A friend of mine is called Edward Portman. He is a pleasant young
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 man. He has got a job in ___(1) of ice of a large factory, not ___(2) from his
home. He works there ___(3) days a week, Monday to Friday, from ___(4)
o’clock to ive-thirty. He lives ___(5) his parents and helps them with ___(6)
money for food and accommodation. At ___(7) -ends he spends sometime
repairing ___(8) small car, which he bought second ___(9).He has got few
responsibilities. He ___(10) his job.
Answers:
1. an 2. far 3. ive 4.nine 5.with
6. some 7. Week 8. His 9.hand 10.1ikes
2.4 THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
The approach is sometimes linked to the integrative approach as they both
emphasize the importance of the meaning of utterance. However, the
communicative tests are concerned primarily with assessing real
communication. The tests should indicate how well a student can function in
the target language. Consequently the tasks should relate to real-life situations
with emphasis on authentic materials. Language ‘use’ is often emphasized to
the exclusion of language ‘usage’. Language Use is concerned with how people
use language for a multitude of different Purposes while language usage
concerns the formal patterns of language.

Finally, communicative testing has introduced the concept of criterion-

referenced assessment in preference to norm-referenced assessment.
Criterion assessment rates students against certain standards, but norm-
assessment compares each student with his classmate.
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 CHARACTERISTICS OF ASSESSMET

Assessment, if it is to adequately ful ll its purpose, should sa sfy the requirements of three key. The test
which is appropriate in terms of our objec ve is a valid test. If the evidence it provides is dependable, it
is a reliable test. And, if it can do this with ease and economy, it is a prac cal test. We shell now examine
the quali es of validity, reliability, and prac cality in detail.

3.1 VALIDITY

Validity is the degree to which a test measure. What it is supposed to measure or can be used
successfully for the purpose for which it is intended. Two ques ons must always be considered:

1. What precisely does the test measure?

2. How well does it do it ?

Types of validity

(a) Content Validity

Almost certainly the most important for the prac cing teacher is the extent to which a test adequately
covers the syllabus to be tested. A valid test must be based upon a careful analysis of the subject or skill
we are tes ng. It must also be constructed as to represent adequately each por on of this analysis. If, for
example, a test is to measure students' mastery of English gramma cal structures, the teacher has to
study the unit and pick out the new structure points. He has then to plan how the students are to
demonstrate mastery of these structures in behavioural terms. This is achieved by the use of a
speci ca on table of content and behaviour (i.e., recogni on or produc on).

(b) Empirical Validity

If we are to check the e ec veness of a test and to determine how well the test measures, we should
relate the test scores to some independent, outside criteria such as scores given at the end of the course
or the teacher's judgment of his students or an external examina on.

(c) Face Validity

This simply means the way the test looks to the examinees, supervisors or in general to the people
concerned with the educa on of the students. Obviously face validity can never replace content validity
or empirical validity; yet its importance should not be underes mated.

(d) Construct Validity

A test is said to possess construct validity if it is designed in accordance with a theory of language
behaviour and learning. For example, if the course of study is based on the assump on that systema c
language habits are best acquired by means of the structural approach then a test, which emphasizes
the situa onal meaning of language, will have low construct validity.
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 3.2 RELIABILITY

Reliability means the stability of test scores. Presumably, if the same test is given twice to the same
group of students, under the same condi ons, it would give the same results. The requisites of a
dependable test are the following:

(1) Mul ple samples

The more samples of students' performance we take the more reliable will be our assessment of their
knowledge and ability. Consequently, the test must be long enough to provide a generous sampling of
the areas tested. And it should also contain a wide variety of levels of di culty.

(2) Standard Condi ons

The reliability of the test scores can be assured only if all students take the examina on under iden cal
condi ons. In a listening test, for example, all students must be able to hear the items clearly.

(3) Standard Tasks

All students must be given the same items or items of equal di culty. In other words, the tests must be
iden cal so as the format.

(4) Standard Scoring

All test must be scored in an iden cal manner. The scorer should give the same or nearly the same score
repeatedly for the same test performance. Two or more scorers should give equivalent score for the
same performance. Objec ve tests tend to be more reliable than free response tests like composi on,
where individual judgement must be made.

3.3 PRACTICALITY

A third characteris c of assessment is its prac cality or usability. A test which is valid and reliable but
di cult to administer or score or which is expensive may fail to gain acceptance.

Two parameters appear to be involved:

(1) Economy: The cost in me, money and personnel of administra ng a par cular test.

(2) Ease: The degree of di culty experienced in the administra ng and scoring of the test, for example,
an oral test that demands the use of a tape recorder is not prac cal if it has to be administered to
thousands of students.
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 TECHNIQUES OF ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT METHODS

There is a considerable range of techniques by which the students' abili es and performance can be
tested. The process of choosing the appropriate one is governed by a number of considera ons
including:

a. Subject ma er b. Purpose

c. Age d. Ability e. Time

Each technique has advantages and disadvantages, and there are both advantages and disadvantages in
using a variety of techniques. This chapter is concerned with a descrip on of the three major types of
the techniques available for the language teacher:

Wri en assessment Oral assessment Aural assessment

There are of course other techniques like: Prac cal assessment and Coursework (including projects and
eldwork), but these techniques are more appropriate for subjects like Science, Geography and the like.

WRITTEN ASSESSMENT When describing wri en assessment we tend to use a wide range of terms which
run from 'open' to 'closed' A ques on at the open end is likely to ask the student to supply material or it
requires more wri ng than reading. Such ques ons are likely to be easier to set than to mark and to
provide limited coverage) Ques ons at the closed end represent the opposite characteris cs. The
student selects from the given material and has more reading to do than wri ng. These ques ons are
easier to mark than to set and permit a wide coverage. The same system of classi ca on can be applied
to oral ques oning, except that listening replaces reading and speaking replaces wri ng.

TYPES OF WRITTEN QUESTIONS

1) Objec ve Items (or Closed response)

2) An objec ve item (item is the term more commonly used than ques on) is one which is asked in such
a way that there is only one predetermined correct answer. This de ni on rules out any ques on
which requires an answer to be supplied, however short, since judgement is needed in the marking of
such answers. It is necessary to emphasize that the only thing that is objec ve about an objec ve
item or test is its marking everything else about it involves the taking of subjec ve judgement, for
example, what to include and what to exclude in the op on or test.

2) Semi - objec ve Ques ons Semi -objec ve items are designed to elicit answers which may be marked
more or less objec vely nọt so objec vely as with mul ple choice tests and not so objec vely as with
open – ended or essay ques ons. Semi-objec ve ques ons are fundamentally short ques ons that
require more than just recogni on as with objec ve items. Actually they are considered the most
promising forms for measuring, misunderstanding, reasoning, crea ve thinking and problem solving.

3) Subjec ve (or Free-response) Ques ons The term free-response or some mes open-ended implies
two things: rst, the student has to decide what to include and what to exclude in his answer and
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 secondly, there is normally no precise limits in the ques ons themselves as to be the length or style of
answer. Essay ques ons and composi on are the most appropriate forms for assessing command of
language. Marking these ques ons is subjec ve, since it is a ected by the judgment of the tester.

OBJECTIVE ITEMS

Objec ve tests have the following common characteris cs:

1. Each objec ve test item has a precisely de ned problem that can be solved in a short me.

2. An objec ve test is usually highly reliable

3. An objec ve test usually has high content validity.

4. The test provides wide coverage of subject content.

5. It can be speedily and 'easily marked

6. Marking is not in uenced by the marker's prejudices."

7. It has the advantage of being easy to examine sta s cally.

Objec ve tests include the following techniques:

a. Mul ple-choice

b. True/false

c. Matching

d. Rearranging

e. Supplying

f. Labelling

MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS

The mul ple-choice test is generally recognized as the most widely applicable type of objec ve tests. It
may be necessary to start with familiarizing the student with the terminology used, namely:

(a) Discrete item: a single complete item.

(b) Stems the ini al part of the item which may be in the form of a ques on or incomplete statement.

(c) Op ons: all the choices or answers (usually four or ve).

(d) Key: the correct answer.

(e) Distractors: the incorrect choices.

(f) Item Set: Five or more items based upon common material, for example a passage.
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 The following examples illustrate the component parts of a discrete item or a mul ple-choice item.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MC

(a) Advantages

(1) The mul ple - choice test can be answered in a short me and the test can have a wide converge.

(2) Large number of people can be tested in a short me.

(3) It is easy to mark and the marking is objec ve.

(4) It has content validity and high reliability.

(5) They can be set for any level of di culty.

(6) It is usually free from ambiguity as it restricts the pupils’ responses to a speci c area.

(b) Disadvantages

(1) Wri ng a technically sound item is not easy.

(2) It takes a long me.

(3) The test results can be distorted by pupils guessing the answers and chea ng by copying others
answers.

(4) Only recogni on and recall are expected from the testes.

(5) It can have a nega ve in uence on classwork and learning methods. Students may see no needs to
prac ce wri ng and they may look for facts rather than seek a deeper understanding.

(6) It has the di culty of nding su cient number of incorrect but plausible distractors.

TRUE / FALSE ITEMS

The true - false item consists of a declara ve statement that the testee is asked to mark as true of false,
right or wrong, correct or incorrect, yes or no, agree or disagree and the like. In each there are only two
possible answers. The testee is asked to select one. True/ false items are used for measuring the ability
to iden fy the correctness of statements of facts, de ni ons of items, statenients of principles and the
like, for example:

(a) Indicate by dele ng the wrong alterna ve whether the following statements are true or false:

{e TRUE/ FALSE 1. The earth is a planet.

TRUE / FALSE 2. The earth revolves round the moon.

(b) Another variant is as follows: Draw a circle round "T" if the statement is true and a circle round
"F" if the statement is false.
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 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

(1) True / false items are frequently easy to construct.

(2) They can cover a wide sampling of the course material.

(3) Scoring is easy.

Disadvantages

(1) The learning outcomes are largely limited to the knowledge area.

(2) The pupils' chances of guessing correctly are usually much greater than the theore cal level of 50
percent.

MATCHING ITEMS

This test format in its simplest form consists of two lists with instruc ons as how the matching is to be
undertaken. The items in the rst list of which a match is sought are called premises and those in the
other list from which a selec on is made are called responses. The pupil’s task is to iden fy the pairs of
items that are to be associated.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MATCHING

Advantages

(1) The major advantage is that it is possible to measure a large amount of related factual material in a
rela vely short me, for example

Persons and Achievements Dates and Historical events

Terms and De ni ons Authors and tles of books

Machines and Uses Paris and Func ons Pictures and Words

(2) Another advantage is ease of construc on.

Disadvantages

(1) Matching tests are restricted to the measurement of factual informa on.

(2) Finding signi cant homogeneous material is some mes di cult.

(3) Its also reducing mul ple choice test. Once you have matched the rst ones there are fewer op ons
le . Eventually you may nd the answer to the di cult one is the only one le .
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 REARRANGEMENT

This test format demands the arrangement of a number of words to make a meaningful sentence or, to
arrange a jumbled series of sentences of formulate a meaningful and coherent/ piece of wri ng. This
type though easy to design can assess e ec vely the students’ command of language syntac cally and
seman cally. Consider the following example:

(1) Put the words into an appropriate order to make up a complete and gramma cally correct
English sentence.

home, quickly, he, so, is, walking, as, me, reach, in.

Answer : He is walking quickly so as to reach home in me.

(2) Rewrite this short conversa on in the right order.

‘ I’ve drunk it all.’

Yes, please, Sara.’

‘‘Can I have some of your Pepsi, Johń? ‘

‘Sorry, I’ve spent all my money’

‘Do you want some money for Pepsi?’

SUPPLY TYPE

The testee is given a group of words following by a number of incomplete sentences. He is asked to
supply the most appropriate words that can ll the blanks. For example :

Write the number of the sentence and the le er of the most suitable preposi on that lls the blank.

A. on B. about C. with D. into E. across F.at

1. Are you angry …… me? 2. John is concerned -- Mary.

3. He ran -- the road. 4. Thieves broke ….. the Na onal Bank last night.

LABELLING

Labelling is another type of objec ve tests. The testee is required to label certain areas of a diagram or
picture. This test format can be used to test vocabulary knowledge, par cularly with beginners. The
visual cue is accompanied by a wri en cue so as to focus students a en on on the speci c lexical unit to
be supplied. For higher levels of language mastery, students may be asked to transcode the informa on
got from a reading text to a table, graph and the like.

The diagram below shows a football eld. Write the le er of the correct label next to the number of the
spot.
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 A. goal area b. halfway line c. penalty spot D. goal e. full backs f. touch line

g. center spot h. forwards

(1)——(2) ——- (3)— - (4) -- --(5)——(6)———(7)——-(8)——

SEMI -OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

Semi - objec ve ques ons combine some of the virtues of both objec ve, and subjec ve ques ons. The
problems are short and highly structured, nevertheless, they provide the examinee with the opportunity
to compose his own answers.

Semi - objec ve ques ons ll the gap in assessment techniques between the free responses sought by
essay wri ng and the limited responses needed by objec ve items. Semi - objec ve ques ons as used in
language tes ng may require the examinee to complete a sentence or to compose one or more of his
according to very speci c direc ons, for example:

(1) Fill the blank space with a word derived from the word between brackets.

To be-- it is generally necessary to be well educated. (success)

(2) De ne the term validity?

The la er ques on clearly asks for a short reply, whereas the. form er is quite simple and direct.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OE SEMI-OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

Advantages

(1) The ques ons are quick and easy to write.

(2) They are less me consuming to construct than mul ple choice.

(3) They require much less scoring me than would a composi on.

(4) They embrace a greater subject area than a composi on ques on.

(5) They demand a certain amount of coherence in the answer

(6) They require more than just recogni on and recall.

(7) The opportunity for guessing the correct answer is much less than that of a mul ple choice item.

(8) The rela vely high objec vity of marking makes this test reliable.
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 Disadvantages

As with all forms of test techniques, the semi objec ve ques ons do have some disadvantages.

(1) They take longer to score than objec ve tests.

(2) Quite frequently there are a number of possible right answers, some of which might not have been
considered by the tester when preparing the test.

(3) They are not suitable for certain answers such as answers to ques ons on literary apprecia on.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING SEMI- OBJECTIVE ITEMS (1)

Select material that is brief and meaningful. (2) Design test items that require analysis and interpreta on
of the material. (3) Write a marking scheme.

TECHNIQUES USED

Techniques used in semi-objec ve ques ons include::

(1) Transforma on (2) Comple on (3) Cloze Test (4) Short-answer Ques ons

TRANSFORMATION ITEMS

The transforma on items are extremely useful for tes ng the student's ability to construct and produce
sentences. A wide range of gramma cal areas can be covered in this test format, for example: Rewrite
each of the following sentences beginning each new sentence with the words given. Make the necessary
changes without changing the meaning.

1. Where is the sta on car-park? Mrs. Smith asked.

Mrs. Smith asked-------------

2. I last saw him when I was a student. I have not----------

COMPLETION ITEMS

Carefully constructed comple on items are a useful means of tes ng the student's ability to produce
correctly gramma cal and meaningful sentences. Thus, a seman c task or structural one can be covered
in this test. Comple on items are considered preferable to mul ple-choice items in certain test
situa ons, since they measure produc on rather than recogni on and are easier to construct than items
with distractors as follows:

Write a word derived from the word between brackets.

1. Be----- when you cross the road. (care)

2. His arrival was ------unexpected. (complete)

Complete the following: 1. Even if I had stood on a chair----. 2. He worked so hard that-----.
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 CLOZE TESTS

Although cloze comple on items, they should not be confused with simple blank- lling tests. A text is
chosen rst, then the tester deletes every nth word.

The blanks are of uniform length. The interval at which words a deleted is usually between every h
and every tenth word.

The cloze test, which was originally intended to measure reading di culty in the rst language, has
recently been greatly used in foreign language tes ng. The principle is based on the Gestalt theory of
'closure' (closing gaps in pa erns subconsciously). The cloze test measures the student's ability to
decode interrupted messages by making the most acceptable subs tu ons from all the contextual clues
available. The length of the text is generally one or two paragraphs with around twenty blanks.

There are two methods of scoring a cloze test. One mark may be awarded for each acceptable answer or
one mark may be awarded for each exact Both methods are reliable. No student should be penalized for
mis-spelling unless a word is so badly spelt that it cannot be understood. In addi on, no dele ons should
be made in the rst few sentences so that the testees have a chance to become familiar with the subject
of the text.

Various modi ed cloze tests have been proposed. In the standard cloze test every nth word is deleted. In
the modi ed type selected words are deleted, for example func on words. The following is an example
of a cloze test.

. . Le er to the Editor

Dear Sir, Every year a huge. amount of money is wasted on cigare es. And every year thousands of
people die of lung cancer. At the same me governments try to discourage people from smoking by
prohibi ng smoking in public places like cinemas and theaters, and making 'no smoking' compartments
on all trains, buses and airplanes . It is awful si ng next to someone blowing smoke all over you, if you
don’t smoke yourself.

Personally, I believe that there is a simple solu on to this problem.

Cigare es should be banned and the manufacture and sale of cigare es should be forbidden by law. The
only people who would su er from such a law would be the cigare e companies, but we all know that
they contribute nothing to society.

. Yours Sincerely,

4.22 SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS

Short-answer ques ons are set in the form of several sub-ques ons. They may be related to the same
topic. This type of ques ons could be based on a common set of data that may be in the form of wri en
material, tables, charts, graphs, or pictures. The testee may be asked to iden fy rela onships in the data,
to recognize valid conclusions, to appraise assump ons or inferences, and the like. This technique then,
measures higher mental processes such as reasoning, crea ve thinking, problem solving and valid
conclusions that were limited in the past en rely to composi on ques ons.
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 4.23 COMPOSITION QUESTIONS

Composi on ques ons have three main characteris cs:

(1) The student must decide on the material which he will include in his answer.

(2) Limits are not set upon the length or the style, of the response, although this can be predetermined
to an extent by demands made in the ques on.

(3) Li le or no guidance is provided for the testee although the ques on itself should be speci c and
unambiguous.

4.24 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

1. The ques on is rela vely easy to set.

2. It is a good measure of power of expression.

3. Composi on ques ons in general have a desirable in uence on students' study habits.

4. They are o en regarded as a device for improving wri ng skills.

Disadvantages

1. The unreliability of scoring since marking is subjec ve, as di erent examiners will score this ques on
di erently.

2. The amount of me required for scoring the answer.

3. The limited sampling they provide. A single ques on does not provide an acceptable measure of the
testee's ability.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING COMPOSITION QUESTIONS

1. Restrict the use of these free response ques ons to these learning outcomes that can not be
sa sfactorily measured by objec ve items

2. Clarify the ques on to make it as speci c as possible and present the pupils with a de nite task.

3. Indicate the me limit for each ques on keeping in mind the slower pupils' wri ng speed.

4. Avoid the use of many op onal ques ons as that may in uence the validity of the test results.

5. Use a scoring scheme and prepare at outline of the expected answer in advance. Expect to modify
this in the light of students' responses.

6. Evaluate all answers to each ques on at one me.

7. Set two wri en tasks of di ering types in stead of one.

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 TECHNIQUES OF TESTING COMPOSITON

Composi on ques ons can be conveniently classi ed into two kinds: guided (or restricted) composi on
ques ons and free (or extended) composi on ques ons.

Chapter six
Vocabulary Test
It is considered important to test knowledge of individual
vocabulary items for three main reasons
First: they represent one of the principle components of language.
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 Second; the testing of individual vocabulary items enables the tester
to include a large number of items in the limited time available for
any test.
Third: the testing of individual items allows for greater objectivity in
marking which provides a balance for the more subjective
assessment in marking pieces of connected writing.
A distinction should be made between the active and passive
vocabulary. Active vocabulary is tested as a part of integrated skills
in the connected writing or speaking questions. While passive
vocabulary is tested in the comprehension questions.
The vocabulary items are usually drawn directly from the textbook
used in class.
Techniques for testing vocabulary items
1. Multiple choice concerns completion, antonym, synonym.
2. Matching items
3. Word set
4. Gap illing

CHAPTER SEVEN
TESTING READING COMPREHENSION
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7.1. In most courses of higher study as well as in the initial stages, the amount
of input information presented far exceeds any type of output required from
the student. It follows from this in the written mode the receptive skill of
reading is probably of students than the productive one of writing. reading is
given greater importance for it is given further weighting in the format used
for testing individual grammatical items, vocabulary items and in the
questions that act as a transition between the two types of skills.
Ideally, of course, the input procedure is not entirely a passive one and
students need to be able to process the information in a number of ways. The
Processing involves various important cognitive skills exempli ied in the
following list:
• An ability to comprehend the whole despite lack of or incomplete
comprehension of some parts.
• An ability to give close attention and follow step by step detail.
• An ability to skim and reject the irrelevant.
• An ability to scan to obtain speci ically required information.
• An ability to use language cues to help in comprehension.
• An ability to draw correct conclusions.
• An ability to see the relationship of parts to the whole.
• An ability to transcode information, ie .. translate it from one medium to
another.
Such skills are very closely related and several of them will be involved at any
one time in any reading task. The comprehension test aims to sample a
competence in these skills. The usual procedure for testing comprehension is
to give the student short texts of varying styles and content, each following by
a series of items.

7.2 CHOICE OF THE TEXT

1. The text has to be kept brief; yet there should be suf icient content to yield
live or six comprehension items.
2. The text should not deal with information that is universally known
otherwise, the testees may be able to answer the questions correctly without
referring to the text.
3. Texts that deal with series of events or including two or more people or
objects are more suitable to testing purposes.
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4. The text should not be loaded with extremely dif icult lexical items or
complex syntactical structures. Such texts have to be adapted to suit the
testees' level.

7.3 SUGGESTIONS FOR ITEM WRITING

1. Answering the questions should involve interpretation of the text, not
merely word matching between the words in the items and the text.
2. The questions should be kept grammatically and lexically as simple as
possible since we are concerned with the interpretation of the text, not with
questions that are asked about it.

TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING READING COMPREHENTION

7.4 A wide range of techniques are available for assessing - reading
comprehension including:
1. Multiple - choice items
2. True / false items
3. Matching items
4. Rearrangement
5. Cloze test
6. Short - answer questions
7. Completion
8. Transcoding

CHAPTER EIGHT
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 TESTING WRITING SKILLS
8.1 Testing the writing skills includes two min areas:
1. The mechanics of writing (i.e., cursive handwriting, spelling and
punctuation).
2. Composition writing.
1. Cursive handwriting tests assess control of the alphabet or characters of
the target language. The learner's ability to produce cursive handwriting is
assessed according to the following features:
1. Proper spacing
2. Correct size of the letters.
3. Proper alignment, i.e., writing on a base line.
4. Legibility-ease of reading because of writing carefully and clearly.
5. Cleanliness.

2. SPELLING
Dictation
Dictation is still an essential method of testing mastery of writing skill.
Dictation provides a measure of overall language pro iciency. The two types of
dictations are:
A-Partial dictation where the student is given a printed passage with some
words or Phrases deleted. As the passage is read, the students ill in the
blanks. This type is preferable because it takes less time to administer and the
teacher tests the chosen words.
B- Full dictation requires the students to write out the whole passage.
This type is somewhat longer to administer and score but it provides a more
valid measure of overall language ability. Dictations, which are given primarily
to test mastery of the writing skill, are usually based on prepared selection
chosen from the students textbooks or readers. Dictations used to evaluate
general pro iciency are taken from texts that are unfamiliar to the students.
Giving the dictation

An effective techniques for administering dictation is as follows:

• The whole passage is read at normal speed. Students listen but not write.
• The passage is read a phrase at a time with pausing during which the
students write down what they hear.
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• The teacher repeats each phrase twice, giving the punctuation marks.
• The passage is read again at normal speed.
• The students are given a few minutes for inal revision.
• The teacher should never repeat a particular word or phrase at student’s
request.
Scoring the dictation
The most common scoring system is the following:
1. point off for each incorrect or omitted word.
2. 1⁄2 Point off for each recognizable word with a spelling error.
Generally, a recurring word consistently misspelled counts as only one error.
COMPLETION
Completion is another format for testing spelling. The students are asked to
supply the missing letters of words, for example.
Ask, asking, run___ ing

Play, played, ind ___d.

Bag bags, tooth____ th
3. PUNCTUATION
A wide range of punctuation marks can be covered by supplying the students
with a passage with no punctuation and ask them to put in the punctuation
marks and capital letters.
Write out the following sentences, putting in all the punctuation marks and
capital letters:
1. he asked me where are you going
2. my uncle writes that henry has just inished a book called farewell
to arms
3. zekis sister is mr ahmeds secretary
COMPOSITION WRITING
Composition questions, which require continuous writing, attempt to discover
competence in the production of written English. Composition is a task that
involves. the learner in writing grammatically correct sentences and linking
these sentences to form a continuous piece of writing which expresses the
writer's thoughts (on a certain topic for a certain purpose
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TECHNIQUES FOR TESTING COMPOSITION

8.7 A) GUIDED COMPOSITION

There are several ways of guiding the students written work. Examples of
guided composition include the following:
8.8 PARALLEL PASSAGES
The student is given a short text and then he is required to write a similar test,
using the words provided, for example:

Read the following paragraph and then write a similar paragraph based on the
information given:
Frank is a cashier who works in a bank. His working hours are 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. He earns £20 a week. At weekends he plays golf or goes . In his spare
time he is studying economics, and in ten or twelve years he hopes
to become a bank manager.
Joyce-secretary-of ice-9.15a.m.-5.30 p.m.-£ 12 tennis-swimming
drawing and painting-dress-designer
8.9 Completion
The student may be given a sage with blanks to be illed with words from the
list provided.
1. Complete the following passage by choosing a appropriate words to
replace the numbers from the list given below:
The boy (1) the wall to (2) the oranges. He (3) four and (4) them in his
pockets. As he was (5) down again he slipped and (6). The fruit in his
pockets squashed. He did not (7) himself, but he could not (8) the oranges
either. He (9) home and (10) his trousers.
1. climbed, jumped, leapt
2. discover, reach, inspect
3. seized, picked, gave
4. hid, put, laid
5. jumping, slipping falling
6. fell, went, left
7. wound, hurt, cut
8. use, eat, taste
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9. wandered, ran, lost
10. cleaned, changed, sewed
B) The following completion type is also useful in controlling writing once
students are familiar with the particular task to be performed.

Complete the following composition with the help of the key words and
phrases provided
John and Mary with their two young children, went for a picnic on a lonely
beach. The
They locked their car and left it on the nearest road the children have a lovely
time, swimming and building castles. At sunset, when they wanted to go home,
John could not ind the key of his car....
Walked three miles in dark to bus-stop, children very tired; waited for an
hour for bus got home at midnight; next morning John telephoned garage to go
and collect his car.
C) Another type is to give the irst and the last sentences, and to ask them
to compose four to ive sentences to complete the passage. Complete the
following paragraph, for which you have only the irst and the last
sentences:
Mr. and Mrs. James were sitting in their living room reading, just
before going to bed
_______________________________________ Mr James
thanked the two policemen an went in, but neither he nor Mrs. James
could sleep well that night
D) Incomplete sentences or several questions can be a good help to
students.
Write a short story about a lay that turned badly. Begin with this sentence:
When I woke up, the sun was shining and thought it was going to be a
glorious day. Use these phrases for the beginning of some sentences:
I telephoned jill _________
As soon as _____________
When went into the garage _______
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The tire _______
Two hours later _________
She was still waiting ______
Just then it began to rain ____
It was still raining ____
Questions may replace these incomplete sentences:
1. 1.What did you decide to do?
2. 2.Who did you telephone?
3. 3.When you went into the garage what did you ind?
4. How long did it take to change the tire?
5. Was Jill still waiting or had she left?
6. Where did you go then?
7. 7.What happened then which spoiled your day?
E) Writing tasks may take the form of form illing.
Fill in this form giving details about your-self.

INTERNATIONAL. SCHOOL.
Academy Road
Reading
OX5 21L
Application for course
Family name _____ Mr/Mrs/Miss First name _____
Dale of Birth _____
Address in your country _____
How long have you been learning English? ______

What is your level of English?_______

What is your reasons for learning English?_____________________
What do you think are your main problems in English?__________

8.10 Passage Transposition

In passage transposition, students have to change a written passage for
example, to change a passage from the present continuous to the past, or from
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below, students are asked to write the text in the irst person instead of third
person. W

8.11 Problem Solving

This type is considered a modern technique of assessing students writing

ability through problem solving task.
Below are four descriptions of four books (as found in a catalogue).
Imagine you want to buy two
One of the books for a thirteen year-old boy who is learning English and who
is interested in most sports and enjoys watching adventure and Science iction
ilms on television.
Using the information given continue in about 30 words each of the four
paragraphs, below, giving your reasons.

The Kraken Wakes.

John Wyndhamm
An exciting story of a world threatened by unknown form of life in the
Oceans.

The Energy Crisis

Based on a BBC television series, an analysis of our sources of energy
and the future nuclear power.
Girl Against The Jungle.
Monica Vincent a plane crashes in the Andes; only a teenage girl
survives, but can she survive the fearful dangers of the Amazon jungle?
Pele, King of Football
Noel Machine Pele the world Famous footballer, few people know about his
early life as a poor boy in Brazil.

My irst choice for him would be ______

My second choice would be _______

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I don't think I would buy him _______
And I am sure he wouldn't enjoy _______

8.12 Pictures
Composition writing may be based on picture or a series of pictures. Pictures
can provide. The teste with the basic material for his composition as well as
stimulating his imagination and encouraging him to progress in his writing.
Consider this example:
Look at the series of pictures on the following page and write the story.
At intermediate level, the examiner may set a number of questions based on
the pictures, for example:
1. Where was the lady?
2. 2.-What did the lady forget to take with her when she left?
3. 3 Who saw her handbag?
4. What did he do?
5. How did the lady thank him?
8.13. Letter Writing
Writing personal letters or postcards is another technique of writing.
Much care must be taken with the layout as well as the content:
Writ a postcard to your friend. Say what you have seen and what you have
done during your stay in Mosul.
Whenever possible, students should be Provided with a realistic and
meaningful basis for writing. The following example is about making
arrangements for a party .

Read Ban’s invitation and then write a suitable reply.

Dear Ann,
Would you like to come to my birthday party on Thursday evening al
about six o’clock? I would be very pleased if you could.

With love

Ban

Dear Ban,
 _____________.
Ann
B) FREE COMPOSITION

8.14. Free composition is used with advanced the choice of composition topics
is important.. The teste should have no trouble in handling the task because
the teste’s efforts during the test should be directed towards how to express
themselves rather than what to write about. The following are some examples:
1. An accident you have witnessed.
2. Finding a lost wallet
3. The telephone - a curse or a blessing
4. Explain how to make a special dish.

MARKING THE COMPOSITION

8.15. The chief objections to composition questions is on grounds of
unreliability. Two markers may differ greatly in respect of spread of marks.
Nevertheless, composition. Is still widely used as a means of measuring the
writing skilIs. The two principal marking schemes are known by the terms
‘general impression’ and analytic. The irst is exactly as il sounds-the marker
reads
the composition and awards it a mark without picking out any special features
for consideration. When following the analytical scheme, the

marker uses pre-determined marking scheme by listing a number of sub-

scales, and speci ies the weight to be given to each .

The Impression Method

This method implies an overall global judgment of the work as a whole.
It is simpler than the analytical marking. The teacher may adopt the following
procedure:
Set a scale of ive categories: very good. good, moderate, poor, and very poor.
These ive categories could be assigned grades (A, B, C, D, E).
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The teacher then reads all the papers and pass a general judgment on them
assigning them to the appropriate piles. Now, every paper within each
category will have to be re-read in order to establish the inal mark.

The Analytical Method

This method is ideally suited to the classroom situation. It depends on a
marking scheme which has been carefully drawn by the marker or body of
markers. It consists an attempt to separate the various features of
composition for scoring composition for purposes. The following is one
example of such an analytical scheme.
Mechanics refers to punctuation and spelling luency to style and ease of
communication and Relevance to the content in relation to the task demanded
of the testee. A 5-point scale has been used.
There is, however, a new method devised and used by a well- known
examining body in Britain as shown in the table below.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is meant by mechanical skills?
2. What are the main techniques used in testing composition
3. What are the criteria used for- handwriting evaluation?
4. What is dictation? What are the types of dictation? What are the differences
between full and partial dictation concerning the tester and the lestee?
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 Chapter nine
Oral assessment
Assessing the students’ command of the spoken language is one of the most
important aspects of an overall evaluation of their language performance. This
is because oral communication is generally related highly in language learning.

Speaking is a complex skill requiring the simultaneous use of a number of

different abilities. It is necessary to distinguish between acquiring control of
elements of language (pronunciation, vocabulary and grammatical patterns)
via speaking on one hand. And communicating one’s idea via speaking on the
other hand. Oral assessment, therefore, should cover not only accurate
language but also luency (e,g. ease and speed of the low of speech) together
with comprehension of what is being said.

General Characteristics of oral assessment

1. The test is very time-consuming
2. They are integrative tests.
3. They are on the subjectively scored.
4. They are serious doubts about their reliability.
5. They are considered valid tests.

Suggestions for conducting oral assessment tests

Oral assessment is based upon personal interaction between examiner and
examinee at a particular place and time. When arranging the oral interaction,
the examiner has to establish a friendly, encouraging atmosphere. The
students must be put at ease. The questions must be asked in a friendly way.

Phases of oral assessment

• Warm up – to make acquaintance of each student and encouraging him
to perform well by starting asking him some social questions about his
health, studies and the like.
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• Main task – to present some task to the students and asses his oral
ability to comprehend and respond in English.
• Round up – to tie up an end by encouraging the student to contribute
his own individual views on the topics discussed and giving him the
feeling that the interview was a pleasant experience for both him and
the examiner.

Methods of oral assessment tests

Tests can be divided into three categories

1. Direct speaking tests: including the procedures in which the examinee is
asked to engage in face to face communicative exchange with the
examiner.
2. Indirect test –which do not acquire any active speech production on the
examinee’s part.
3. Semi- direct tests- which although elicit active speech by the examinee,
do this by means of pictures, printed materials or tape recordings.

Techniques for assessing oral skills

1. Dialogue
2. General conversation
3. Interview
4. Picture based questions
5. Reading aloud
6. Pronunciation (sound discrimination and sound production)

The latter two techniques might be together, since the reading test
evaluates correct pronunciation of single words as well as handling stress,
intonation and rhythm.