Today, we will be discussing about Designing Classroom Language Tests.

But
before that, let’s just go over with the definition of TEST quickly. As a pre-service
teacher, how would you define test?

In the reference sent by Ma’am Cabrito, a test is defined as a method of measuring

a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain.

What does it mean?

It means that a test measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been
reached, attained and/or learned by the student. Examples of a test will be discussed as
we go along with my report.

(1ST SLIDESHOW)

Why do you think we are talking about designing classroom language tests when
we could just browse through the web and download readily available workout sheets?

It is because tests provided in the textbook, internet, and other learning materials
don’t include the knowledge the students gain from outside experiences. Teacher-made
tests better reflect what is taught in class and fit better with the teaching methods they
use. With customized tests, teachers can assess the students as they progress to check
for understanding.

In designing classroom language tests, there are questions which you need to take
into consideration.

(2ND SLIDESHOW)

These are the critical questions which you need to know to start designing a test.

1. What is the purpose of the test?

Bear in mind that tests are created for a reason and that reason is what you
need to find out. To know the purpose of the test, you need to answer the following
questions:
a) Why are you creating the test or why did the textbook writer create the test?
(Because I want to determine how much my students have learnt.)
b) What is its significance relative to your course? (For example, to evaluate
overall proficiency. Or say to place a student in a course.)
c) What will its impact be on you and your students before and after the
assessment? (The teacher will know which area of the lesson he/she needs to
 give more attention to. On the other hand, students would know which area of
the lesson they still need to work on or exert more effort on.)

Once you have established the major purpose of a test, you can then determine its
objectives. And that is 2 in the critical questions you need to be aware of.

2. What are the objectives of the test?

When we say objectives, these are learning outcomes that clearly describe
what students will be expected to learn by the end of the lesson. With that being
said, the questions what exactly are you trying to find out or what are you trying
to assess should be answered clearly.

Then we have number 3 –

3. How will the test specifications reflect both the purpose and the objectives?
We all know that the purpose of test specification is to identify the
achievement being measured and to ensure that a fair and representative sample
of questions appear on the test.
One must make sure that the test has a structure that logically follows from
the unit or lesson it is testing. The class objectives should be present in the test
through appropriate task types and weights, a logical sequence, and a variety of
tasks.

4. How will the test tasks be selected and the separate items arranged?
There are key points which you need to be familiar with in selecting and
arranging test items. These are:
 The test tasks need to be practical – this means that tasks should measure
knowledge and understanding;
 The test should be valid; therefore, they should mirror tasks of the lesson;
and
 They should be able to be evaluated reliably by the teacher.

After you have successfully selected and arranged the tasks, you also need to
think of the score, grade and feedback which you need to provide after the students have
taken the test. And this is the last in the list of the critical questions to start designing a
test.
 5. What kind of scoring, grading, and/or feedback is expected?
The teacher should carefully assess students’ tests result to give an
appropriate score/grade. It would be better if students know how they will be
rated so the formulation of scoring rubrics will be of great help. Giving assessment
feedback to students is integral to their learning and thus needs to be planned as
a fundamental part of the assessment design.

These five questions should form the basis of your approach to designing tests for
your classroom.

(3RD SLIDESHOW)
Then we have test types. There are 5 test types included in my report. These are
language aptitude test, language proficiency test, placement test, diagnostic test and
achievement test.

(4TH SLIDESHOW)
The first in the list is Language Aptitude Test. Language Aptitude Test, or LAT, is
designed to measure capacity or general ability to learn a foreign language. Its purpose
is to predict a person’s success to exposure to the foreign language. LAT does not refer to
whether or not an individual can learn a foreign language; but it refers to how well an
individual can learn a foreign language in a given amount of time and under given
conditions. Normally, this type of test is ideal to be used by the Education and training
institutes evaluating individual’s aptitude for learning languages and those BPO
companies looking for hiring individuals who can interact with clients in foreign
countries.

(5TH SLIDESHOW)
The second type of test is Proficiency Test. Proficiency test is not limited to any one
course, curriculum, or single skill in the language; rather it tests overall ability. It is a
test which measures how much of a language someone has learned. A proficiency test is
intended to measure your command of a language regardless of your background in that
language.

(6TH SLIDESHOW)
 Then we have Placement Test. Placement test is a test designed to evaluate a
person’s preexisting knowledge of a language and thus determine the level most suitable
for the person to begin coursework on that subject.

(7TH SLIDESHOW)
A diagnostic test is where teachers can evaluate students’ strengths, weaknesses,
knowledge and skills before their instruction. It is also called a pretest. The purpose is to
help the teacher tell how much the students know and don’t know about an upcoming
topic. This helps in creating the teacher’s lesson plan, learning objectives, and helps in
identifying areas that may need more or less time spent on.

(8TH SLIDESHOW)
Lastly, we have Achievement Test. An achievement test is what it says on the tin: a
test that measures a student’s achievement and progression in a specific subject or topic
over a set period of time. The primary role of an achievement test is to determine
whether course objectives have been met – and appropriate knowledge and skills
acquired – by the end of a period of instruction.

(9TH SLIDESHOW)
For example, you are testing the vocabulary of your students. To do that, you can
have a matching type of a test where the 1 st column is the word/term and the 2 nd one is
the definition of the word.

(10TH SLIDESHOW)
There are some practical steps listed in test construction. We have Assessing
Clear, Unambiguous Objectives, Drawing up Test Specifications, Devising Test Tasks,
and Designing Multiple-Choice Test Items.

(11TH SLIDESHOW)
Assessing clear, unambiguous objectives by knowing the purpose of the test you’re
creating. You need to set clear and specific objectives.

(12TH SLIDESHOW)
Determine a simple and practical outline, tested skills, and decide forms of item
types and tasks.
(13TH SLIDESHOW)
Devising Test Tasks by drafting the questions, revising the draft, requesting aid
from colleague (if needed), and imagine yourself as a student taking the test.
(14TH SLIDESHOW)
Lastly, designing multiple-choice items by checking practicality, reliability and the
possibility of cheating.

(15TH SLIDESHOW)
There are important terminologies in Multiple-Choice that you need to know.
1. Multiple-choice items are all receptive, or selective, response items in that the
test-taker chooses from a set of responses (commonly called a supply type of
response) rather than creating.
2. Every multiple-choice item has a stem, which presents a question or problem,
and several (usually between three and five) options or alternatives to choose
from.
3. One of those options, the key, is the correct response, while the others serve as
distractors.

(16TH SLIDESHOW)
There are also four guidelines for designing multiple-choice items.
1. Design each item to measure a specific objective. (Optional, for example, you’re
trying to assess the comprehension of wh-questions.)
2. State both stem and options as simply and directly as possible. (Go straight to the
point, avoid being wordy)
3. Make certain that the intended answer is clearly the only one correct. (Avoid
having two or more options that are correct.)
4. Use item indices to accept, discard, or revise items.

(17TH SLIDESHOW)

The last of my report is the Scoring, Grading and Giving Feedback. The
appropriate form of feedback on tests will vary depending on the purpose. For every test,
remember that the way results are reported is an important consideration. Under some
circumstances, a letter grade or score may be appropriate. Other circumstances may
require that the teacher provide detailed feedback to the students. The teacher just need
to analyze which method is best to use.
 THAT ENDS MY DISCUSSION FOR TODAY. I HOPE YOU LEARNED
SOMETHING FROM MY REPORT ON DESIGNING CLASSROOM LANGUAGE TESTS.
HAVE A GOOD DAY, EVERYONE.