Kinds of tests

Kinds of tests

Hughes (2003) Ch. 3

Open Ended

Hughes (2003) introduces the chapter saying that 'tests can be categorised according to the types of information they provide.' Which test types are discussed in the chapter?

PROFICIENCY TESTS

are designed to measure people's ability in a language. Their content is based on a specification of what candidates have to be able to do in the language in order to be considered proficient.

Multiple Choice

'Proficient' means having sufficient command of the language for a particular purpose.

• True

• False

Open Ended

Hughes mentions Cambridge Exams to highlight a different concept of proficiency. What makes them different from other proficiency tests?

Multiple Choice

All proficiency tests have in common the fact that they are based on courses that candidates have previously taken.

ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

are directly related to language courses, their purpose being to establish how successful individual students, groups of students, or the courses themselves have been in achieving objectives. 

Fill in the Blank

Which are the two kinds of achievement tests?

Final achievement tests

should be based directly on a detailed course syllabus or on the books and other materials used.

Multiple Choice

Which approach is this referred to as?

• detailed-course approach

• syllabus-content approach

• end-of-course approach

Open Ended

What can cause these tests to fail?

As an alternative,

tests based on objectives work against the perpetuation of poor teaching practice, something which course-content-based tests, almost as if part of a conspiracy, fail to do.

Multiple Select

Check all the advantages that tests based on objectives have:

• it compels course designers to be explicit about objectives

• it allows performance on the test to show just how far students have achieved those objectives

• it provides more accurate information about individual and group achievement

• it promotes a more beneficial backwash effect on teaching

• it best serves long-term interests of students

Progress achievement tests

are intended to measure the progress that students are making. They contribute to formative assessment.

Multiple Choice

Which is the most appropriate way of measuring progress?

• to repeatedly administer final achievement tests

• to establish a series of well-defined short-term objectives

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

are used to identify learners' strengths and weaknesses. They are intended primarily to ascertain what learning still needs to take place.

Open Ended

Why is it hard to construct tests for purely diagnostic purposes?

PLACEMENT TESTS

are intended to provide information that will help to place students at the stage (or in the part) of the teaching programme most appropriate to their abilities. 

Multiple Select

Which characteristics are common in most successful placement tests? Mark all the options you consider correct.

• they can be bought

• they are constructed for particular situations

• they are designed for use by language schools

• they depend on the key features at different levels of teaching in an institution

• they are tailor-made