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Principle of Language Assessment 2003

The document discusses five key principles of language assessment: practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback. It defines each principle and provides examples. Practicality means a test is cost-effective, timely, easy to administer and score. Reliability ensures a test consistently measures what it intends to regardless of minor issues. Validity establishes a test actually measures the targeted skills or content. Authenticity makes test tasks resemble real-world situations. Washback refers to how a test influences preparation and learning. These principles should be considered for any language assessment to evaluate effectiveness.

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Esteban Manzanares
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103 views6 pages

Principle of Language Assessment 2003

The document discusses five key principles of language assessment: practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback. It defines each principle and provides examples. Practicality means a test is cost-effective, timely, easy to administer and score. Reliability ensures a test consistently measures what it intends to regardless of minor issues. Validity establishes a test actually measures the targeted skills or content. Authenticity makes test tasks resemble real-world situations. Washback refers to how a test influences preparation and learning. These principles should be considered for any language assessment to evaluate effectiveness.

Uploaded by

Esteban Manzanares
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Principle of Language Assessment.

Here we going to learn how principle of language assessment can should be


applied to formal test, but the ultimate recognition that these principles also apply
to assessment of all kinds.

The practically, reliability, validity, authenticity, and washback. Are parts of the five
cardinal criteria for “testing a test”.

PRACTICALLY:

An effective test is practical. This means that is:

*is not excessively expensive,

*stays within appropriate time constraints,

*is relatively easy to administer, and

*has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient.

RELIABILITY:

A reliable test is consistent and dependable. If you give the same test to the same
Ss or matched Ss on two different occasions, the test should yield similar results.
The issue of reliability of a test may be addressed by considering number of factors
that may contribute to the unreliability of a test.

*Ss-Related Reliability:

Is cause by temporary illness, fatigue, a “bad day”, anxiety, and other physical or
psychological which may make an “observed” score deviate from one´s “true”
score.
*Rater Reliability:

Human error, subjectively, and bias may enter into the scoring process. Inter-rater
reliability occurs when two or more scores yield inconsistent scores in the same
test, possibly for lack of attention to scoring criteria, inexperience, inattention, or
even preconceived biases.

*Test Administration Reliability:

Unreliability may also result from the conditions in which the test is administered.
For instant, the administration of a test of aural comprehension in which a tape
recorded is played but the street noise outside the classroom so the Ss sitting next
to windows could not heard the tape accurately.

*Test Reliability:

Sometime the nature of the test itself can cause measurement errors. If a test is
too long, test-takers may become fatigued by time they reach the later items and
hastily respond incorrectly.

VALIDITY:

A valid test is not just about of reading ability or to measure writing ability. Such
test would be easy to administer (practical) and the scoring quite dependable. But
it would constitute a valid test of writing ability without some consideration of
comprehensibility, rhetorical discourse elements, end the organization of the ideas,
among others factors.

How is the validity of a test established?

*Content-Related evidence

You can usually identify content-related evidence observationally if you can clearly
define the achievement that you are measuring. A test of tennis competency that
asks someone to run 100-yards dash obviously lacks of validity.
*Criterion Related Evidence

In the case of the teacher made classroom assessments, this is the best
demonstrated trough a comparison of the results of an assessment with results of
some other measure of the same criterion. Criterion-related evidence falls into two
categories: concurrent and predictive validity. The concurrent is the result is
supported by other concurrent performance beyond the assessment itself. And
predictive of an assessment becomes important in the case of placement tests,
admission assessments batteries, language attitudes test, and so on.

*Construct-Related Evidence

Is any theory, hypothesis, or model that attempts to explain observed


phenomena in our universe of perceptions. Construct may not be directly or
empirically measured –their verification often requires inferential data. “Proficiency”
and “communicative competence”, are linguistic construct; “self-esteem” and
“motivation” are psychological construct.

*Consequential Validity

Consequential validity encompasses all the consequences of a test, including such


consideration as its accuracy in measuring intended criteria, its impact on the
preparation of the test-takers, its effect on the learners, and the (intended and
untended) social consequences of a test´s interpretation and use.

*Face Validity

Face validity refers to the degree to which a test looks right, and appears to
measure the knowledge or abilities its claims to measure, based on the subjective
subjects on the examinees who take it, the administrative personnel who decide on
its use, and other psychologically unsophisticated observes. Face validity means
that the Ss perceive the test to be valid.

-a well-constructed, expected format with familiar tasks,

-a test that is clearly doable within the allotted time limit,


-items that are clear and uncomplicated,

-direction that are crystals clear,

-task that relate to their course work (content validity), and

-a difficulty level that presents a reasonable challenge.

Validity is a complex concept, yet it is indispensible to the teacher´s understanding


of what makes a good test. If you in your language teaching you can attend to the
practicality, reliability, and validity of a test language, whatever those test are
classroom test related to a part of a lesson, final exams, or proficiency test, then
you are well on the way to make accurate judgment about the competence of the
learners with who you are working.

Are the test task as authentic as possible?


Evaluate the extent to which a test is authentic by asking the following questions:

 Is the language in the test as natural as possible?


 Are items as contextualized as possible rather than isolated?
 Are topics and situations interesting, enjoyable, and or humorous?
 Is some thematic organization provided, such as through a story line or
episode?
 Do task represent, or closely approximate, real-world tasks?

Does the test offer beneficial washback to the learner?

The design of an effective test should point the way to beneficial washback. A test
that achieves content validity demonstrates relevance to the curriculum in question
and thereby sets the stage of washback.
Other evidence of washback may be less visible from an examination of the test
itself. What happens before and after the test is critical. Preparation time before the
test can contribute to washback since the learner is reviewing and focusing in a
potentially broader way on the objectives in question. By spending classroom time
after the test reviewing the content, students discover their areas of strength and
weakness. Teachers can raise the washback potential by asking students to the
use test results as a guide to setting goals for their future effort.
Some the “Alternatives “ in assessment referred to in chapter 1 may also enhance
washback from tests.
Principles and the guidelines to evaluate various forms of tests and procedures, be
sure to allow each one of the five to take on greater or lesser importance,
depending on the context. For example, practicality is usually more important than
washback, but the reverse may be true of a number of classroom tests.
Validity is of course always the final arbiter. These principles, important as they
are, are not the only considerations in evaluating or marking and effective test.

Exercises:

1-(I/C) Review the five principles of language assessment that are defined and
explained in this chapter. Be sure to differentiate among several types of evidence
that support the validity of tests, as well as four kinds of reliability.

2-(I/C) Do you think that consequential and face validity are appropriate
considerations in classroom-based assessment? Explain.

3-(G) In the section on washback, it is stated that “Washback enhances a number


of basic principles of language acquisition: Intrinsic motivation, autonomy, self-
confidence, language, ego, interlanguage and strategic investment, among the
others. Discuss the connection between washback and the above-named general
principles of language learning and teaching. Write some examples and share it
with the rest of the class.

4-I/C) Washback is described here as a positive effect. Can tests provide negative
washback? Explain.

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