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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Book · July 2012

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Safa Tariq Habeeb Fatin Al Rifa'i

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 Testing and Assessment In
Dr. Fatin Khairi AL-Rifa'i

A professor of ELT and Applied linguistics, University

of Baghdad, College of Education / Humanities, Department of
Educational and Psychological Sciences, and a teacher of
curriculum methods of teaching English, and Testing and
Assessment at under and post graduate levels.

Dr. Safa' Tariq Habeeb Garma

A professor of Measurement and Evaluation and

Educational and Educational statistics, University of Baghdad

English Language
College of Education / Humanities, Department of Educational
and Psychological Sciences, a teacher of Measurement and
Evaluation, Educational statistics, and Testing and Assessment
at under and post graduate levels.

Vice Dean of Administration and Finance at the College of

Education / Humanities.

Registration Number in Iraqi National Library

(47) 2012
 Testing and Assessment in
English Language

Professor Professor
FatinKhairy AL-Rifa'i Safa' Tariq Habeeb
Ph.D. in English Language Ph.D. in Evaluation ,
Teaching, Curriculum, and Measurement andTesting,and
Testing and Assessment Educational Statistics

Registration Number in Iraqi National Library ( 47) 2012

 1
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Preface
Testing and assessment are part of modern life.
Schoolchildren are constantly assessed to monitor their
educational progress, or to evaluate the quality of school systems
by governments. Adults are also tested to see if they are suitable
for a job they have applied for, or if they have the skills necessary
for promotion. Entrance to educational establishments, to
professions and even to entire countries is sometimes controlled
by tests. Tests play a fundamental and controversial role in
allowing access to the limited resources and opportunities that our
world provides. The importance of understanding what we test,
how we test and the impact that the use of tests has on individuals
and societies cannot be overstated.

Testing is more than a technical activity; it is also an ethical

enterprise. This ethical dimension in so far affects people’s lives.
Language testing is not just about creating the instruments for
data generation, which deal principally with the mechanics of test
production. Test development needs to go deeper than this.
Language tests from the distant past to the present are important
historical documents which can help inform us about attitudes to
language, language testing and language teaching when little
alternative evidence of what went on in the bygone language
classroom remains.

This book is an attempt to present the definition, process,

procedures, and techniques of testing and assessment in assessing
 2
Testing and Assessment in English Language
English language learners. It will provide both teachers and
student-teachers with some ways of assessment in their
classrooms, therefore, they will:

1- understand the cornerstones of all good assessment,

2- learn useful techniques for testing and alternative assessment,

3- become aware of issues in assessing different language skills,

and

4- become familiar with the processes and procedures of testing

and assessment.
 3
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter One

Evaluation, Assessment, and Testing

To help teachers make effective use of evaluation,
assessment, and testing procedures in the Foreign / Second
(FL/SL) language classroom, it is necessary to clarify what these
concepts are and explain how they differ from one another.

1. Evaluation

The term evaluation is all-inclusive and is the widest basis

for collecting information in education. It is conceptualized as
broader in scope, and concerned with the overall program. It
involves looking at all factors that influence the learning process,
i.e., syllabus objectives, course design, and materials. It goes
beyond student achievement and language assessment to consider
all aspects of teaching and learning and to look at how
educational decisions can be informed by the results of alternative
forms of assessment. It includes the whole course or program, and
information is collected from many sources, including the learner.
This systematic gathering of information for purposes of decision
making comprises two components:

1. information and

2. value judgments or decisions.

 4
Testing and Assessment in English Language
The information relevant to evaluation can be either
qualitative (non-measurement, e.g., observation, ratings), or
quantitative (measurement, e.g., tests).

2. Assessment

It is part of evaluation because it is concerned with the

student and with what the student does. It refers to a variety of
ways of collecting information on a learner’s language ability or
achievement. It is an umbrella term for all types of measures used
to evaluate student progress. It is often used interchangeably with
testing. It is related to the learner and his/her achievements. It is
an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain than
testing. It is appraising or estimating the level or magnitude of
some attribute of a person. It consists essentially, of taking a
sample of what the students do, making inferences and estimating
the worth of their action. The sample in the assessment of a
person’s language abilities may include tests, interviews,
questionnaires, observations, etc.

3. Testing

It is the use of tests or the study of the theory and practice of

their use, development, evaluation, etc. Testing has traditionally
provided a measure of growth or achievement by which the
success of students’ learning has been evaluated. It provides
significant information about student morale and anxiety levels,
 5
Testing and Assessment in English Language
an opportunity for a special kind of intensive study referred to as
reviewing for a test and diagnostic tips that come to the teacher as
feedback. It is part of assessment and it measures learner
achievement.

3.1 Tests

A test is any procedure used to measure a factor or assess

some ability. It refers to a measurement instrument designed to
elicit a specific sample of an individual’s behavior. It necessarily
quantifies characteristics of individuals according to explicit
procedures. What distinguishes a test from other types of
measurement is that it is designed to obtain a specific sample of
behavior. Tests are often used for pedagogical purposes, either as
a means of motivating students to study, or as a means of
reviewing the material taught, in which case no evaluation
decision is made on the basis of the test results. Tests may also be
used for purely descriptive purposes.

Tests are prepared administrative procedures that occur at

identifiable times in a curriculum when learners master all their
faculties to offer peak performance, knowing that their responses
are being measured and evaluated. They are subset of assessment;
they are certainly not the only form of assessment that a teacher
can make. Tests can be useful devices, but they are only one
among many procedures and tasks that teachers can ultimately use
to assess students.
 6
Testing and Assessment in English Language
3.2 Trends or Approaches to Language Testing

Language testing can be divided into four major trends as

shown in the figure below:

Essay-Translation Approach

Structuralist Approach

Integrative Approach

Communicative Approach

1- Essay-Translation Approach
It is also called Traditional Approach or Prescientific Trend.
It is an approach to language testing in which no special skill or
expertise in testing is required. This trend is characterized by lack
of concern for statistical matters or for such notions as objectivity
and reliability. In its simplest form, it assumes that one can and
must rely completely on the subjective judgment of an
experienced teacher, who can tell after a few minutes
conversation, or after reading a student’s essay, what mark to
give. In the prescientific mode, oral examinations of any kind are
the exception: language testing is assumed to be a matter of open-
 7
Testing and Assessment in English Language
ended written examinations. Depending on the language teaching
philosophy, such tests (or examinations) would consist of
passages for translation into or from the foreign language; free
composition in it; and selected items of grammatical, textual or
cultural interest (often in the form of comments about the
language being learnt).
During this period, and in this approach, language tests are
clearly the business of language teachers, or, in more formal
situations, of language teachers promoted or specially appointed
as examiners. No special expertise is required: if a person knows
how to teach, it is assumed that he can judge the proficiency of
his students.

2- Structuralist Approach
It is also called the Discrete Point Approach, or the
Psychometric-Structuralist Trend. It is an approach which is
commonly referred to as Scientific Stage of language testing. This
approach is characterized by the interaction of two sets of experts,
agreeing with each other mainly in the belief that testing can be
made precise, objective, reliable, and scientific. The first of these
groups of experts were the testers, and the psychologists are
responsible for the development of modern theories and
techniques of educational measurement. Their key concern has
been to provide “objective” measures using various statistical
techniques to assure Reliability and certain kinds of validity.
Their first thrust was to demonstrate the unreliability of
 8
Testing and Assessment in English Language
traditional examinations which were applied in the previous stage.
Therefore, they moved to develop more reliable measures,
working to find either techniques for making judgments more
reliable, or new kinds of test items more amenable to control. The
better known work of the testers was the development of short,
objective Multiple-choice Items.
Structural linguists, who added notions from the science of
language to the science of educational measurement, believed that
language elements could be separated into phonology,
vocabulary, and grammar, and that these elements could be taught
and tested separately. They believed that students’ mastery could
be tested using words and sentences completely divorced from
any context on the grounds that larger sample of language forms
can be covered in the test in a comparatively short time.
In this approach, the skills of listening, speaking, reading,
and writing are also separated from one another because it is
considered essential to test one thing at a time. Discrete-point
tests attempt to achieve the following goals:
1- diagnosing learner strengths and weaknesses,
2- prescribing curricula at particular skills, and
3- developing specific teaching strategies to help learners
overcome particular weaknesses.
Despite the above desirable goals, there have been strong
attacks on the theoretical basis of this approach, associated with
two trends in contemporary linguistics. The first, which is called
the “language competence trend,” is connected to various views
 9
Testing and Assessment in English Language
of psycholinguists. It is based on a belief in such a thing as overall
language proficiency, and a feeling that knowledge of a language
is more than just the sum of a set of discrete parts. They believe
that discrete-point analysis necessarily breaks the elements of
language apart and tries to teach them (or test them) with little or
no attention to the way those elements interact in a larger context
of communication. What makes it ineffective as a basis of
teaching or testing language is that crucial properties of language
are lost when its elements are separated. The fact is that in any
system where the parts interact to produce properties and qualities
that do not exist in the parts separately, the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. The second which is called the
“communicative competence trend” is connected with views of
modern sociolinguists. It accepts the belief in integrative testing,
but insists on the need to add a strong functional dimension to
language testing.

3- Integrative Approach
It is an approach which involves testing of language in
context and is thus primarily concerned with meaning and the
total communicative effect of discourse. Tests do not seek to
separate language skills into neat divisions in order to improve
test reliability, instead they are often designed to assess the
learner’s ability to use two or more skills simultaneously. Thus,
tests based on the integrative rationale are concerned with a
global view of proficiency. Integrative testing involves
 10
Testing and Assessment in English Language
“functional language” but not the use of functional language.
Integrative tests are best characterized by cloze testing and
dictation. Oral interviews, translation, and essay writing are also
included in many integrative tests.

4- Communicative Approach
It is an approach to language testing in which tests are
concerned primarily (if not totally) with how language is used in
communication. Therefore, most tests, in this approach, aim to
incorporate tasks which approximate as closely as possible to
these facing the students in real life. In communicative approach,
tests should meet certain criteria, for example:
1- They should be interactive.
2- They should be direct in nature with tasks reflecting realistic
discourse processing activities.
3- Texts and tasks should be relevant to the intended situation of
the target population,
4- These tests should be based on an explicit a priori
specification.
5- Ability should be sampled within meaningful and developing
contexts.
In this approach, success is judged in terms of the ability to
function/communicate effectively through language in particular
settings and contexts rather than formal linguistic accuracy. This
involves the notion that linguistic activity in the test should be of
the kinds and under the conditions which approximate to real life.
 11
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Language use is often emphasized to the exclusion of language
usage. “Use” is concerned with how people actually use language
for a multitude of different purposes, while “Usage” concerns the
formal patterns of language.

Task 1
Complete the figure below:
Major Trends in Language Testing

Task 2
Put the following words in their right location:
Evaluation, assessment, testing
 12
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 3
Draw a figure showing the relationship among teaching, learning,
testing, curriculum.
 13
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter Two
Types of Tests
The most common uses of language tests is to identify
strengths and weaknesses in students’ abilities, and to provide
information about the effectiveness of programs of instruction.
Therefore, tests could be of different types.
2.1 Types of Tests:
1- Placement Tests:
They assess students’ level of language ability so they can
be placed in an appropriate course or class. They place students at
appropriate level of instruction within program or class. This type
of test indicates the level at which a student will learn most
effectively. The primary aim is to create groups of learners that
are homogeneous in level. In the designing of such a test the
content may base either on a theory of general language
proficiency or on learning objectives of the curriculum.

2- Aptitude Tests
They measure capacity or general ability to learn a foreign
or second language, and ultimate success in that undertaking.
They are ostensibly designed to apply to the classroom learning of
any language.

3- Diagnostic Tests
They identify language areas in which a student needs
further help. They also identify students’ strengths and
 14
Testing and Assessment in English Language
weaknesses for remediation. They are designed to diagnose
specified aspects of a language. Usually, such tests offer a
checklist of features for the administrator or teacher to use in
pinpointing difficulties. The information gained from diagnostic
tests is crucial for further course activities and providing students
with remediation. Because diagnostic tests are difficult to write,
placement tests often serve a dual function of both placement and
diagnosis.

4- Progress Tests
They measure the progress that students are making toward
defined course or program goals. They are administered at various
stages throughout a language course to determine what students
have learned, usually after certain segments of instruction have
been completed. Progress tests are generally teacher produced and
narrower in focus than achievement tests because they cover less
material and assess fewer objectives.

5- Proficiency Tests
They are not based on a particular curriculum or language
program, but they assess the overall language ability of students
at varying levels. They may also tell us how capable a person is in
a particular language skill area. They describe what students are
capable of doing in a language. Some proficiency tests have been
standardized for international use such as the TOEFL or the
IELTS.
 15
Testing and Assessment in English Language
6- Achievement Tests
They are similar to progress tests in that they determine
what a student has learned with regard to stated course outcomes.
They provide information about students’ attainment of course
outcomes at end of course or within the program. They are
usually administered at mid-and end-point of the semester or
academic year. The content of achievement tests is generally
based on the specific course content or on the course objectives.
Achievement tests are often cumulative, covering material drawn
from an entire course or semester. They are related directly to
classroom lessons, units, or even a total curriculum. They can
serve the diagnostic role of indicating what a student needs to
continue to work on in the future, but 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. They are often summative because
they are administered at the end of a unit or term of study. They
also play an important formative role. An effective achievement
test will offer washback about the quality of a learner’s
performance in subsets of the unit or course. This washback
contributes to the formative nature of such tests. The
specifications for an achievement test should be determined by:
1- the objectives of the lessons, unit, or course being assessed,
2- the relative importance (or weight) assigned to each objective,
3- the tasks employed in classroom lessons during the unit of
time,
 16
Testing and Assessment in English Language
4- practicality issues, such as the time frame for the test and
turnaround time, and
5- the extent to which the test structure lends itself to formative
washback.
Achievement tests range from five-or-ten- minute quizzes to
three-hour final examinations, with an almost infinite variety of
item types and formats. The following are some practical steps
constructing classroom tests:-
1- Assessing clear, unambiguous objectives
A teacher needs to examine carefully the objectives for the unit
he/she is testing. He should begin by taking a careful look at
everything that he thinks his students should know or be able to
do, based on the material that the students are responsible for. He
should go back through a unit and formulate the objectives by
himself. Each objective should be stated in terms of the
performance elicited and the target linguistic domain. He may
find, in reviewing the objectives of a unit or a course, that he can
not possibly test each one, then he needs to choose a possible
subset of the objectives to test.
2- Drawing up Test Specifications
Test specifications for classroom use can be a simple and
practical outline of the teacher’s test. The specifications will
simply comprise:
a- a broad outline of the test,
b- what skills you will test, and
c- what the items will look like.
 17
Testing and Assessment in English Language
In the outline of the test, a teacher has to specify the time
limit for the test, and to distribute the time among the skills and
items that he wants to test. The table below is an illustrative
example of test specifications:
Test specifications
Speaking (5 minutes per person, previous day)
Format: oral interview, T and S
Task: T asks questions of S (objectives 3, 5; emphasis on 6)
Listening (10 minutes)
Format: T makes audiotape in advance, with one other voice on it
Tasks: a. 5 minimal pair items, multiple-choice (objective 1)
b. 5 interpretation items, multiple-choice (objective 2)
Reading (10 minutes)
Format: cloze test items (10 total) in a story line
Tasks: fill-in-the-blanks (objective 7)
Writing (10 minutes)
Format: prompt for a topic: why I liked/didn’t like a recent TV sitcom
Task: writing a short opinion paragraph (objective 9)

Adopted from Brown (2001:52)

3- Devising Test Tasks
A teacher should consider two types of test tasks that are
included in a communicative test:

1- Oral tests where he drafts questions to conform to the accepted

pattern of the oral test which is mainly interviews. In an
interview, the test begins with a warm-up, level-check
questions, probing, and ends with wind-down.
 18
Testing and Assessment in English Language

2- Written tests: In revising the draft, the teacher should make

sure whether the directions to each section are absolutely clear;
an example item for each section is available (if necessary); the
item measures a specified objective; the item is stated in clear,
simple language; the level of difficulty of each item is
appropriate for the students; the language of each item is
sufficiently authentic; and the sum of the items and the test as a
whole adequately reflect the learning objectives or not.

4- Scoring and Grading

As the teacher designs a classroom test, he must consider
how the test will be scored and graded. The teacher’s scoring plan
reflects the relative weight that he places on each section and
items in each section. The table below is an illustrative example
of suggested decisions about scoring a test:

Devising Test Tasks

Percent of Total Grade Possible Total Correct
Oral Interview 40% 4 scores, 5 to 1 range × 2 = 40

Listening 20% 10 items @ 2 points each = 20

Reading 20% 10 items @ 2 points each = 20
Writing 20% 2 scores, 5 to 1 range × 2 = 20

Total 100
(Adopted from Brown, 2001:62)
 19
Testing and Assessment in English Language
As for grading, it means assigning grades to student
performance on the test. The following guidelines should be
considered for grading any achievement test:
1- It is essential for all components of grading to be consistent
with an institutional philosophy and/or regulations.
2- All of the components of a final grade need to be explicitly
stated in writing to students at the beginning of a term of study,
with a designation of percentages or weighting figures for each
component.
3- It is important to recognize that some tests are subjective in
their scoring. They should be converted into observable and
measurable results by creating checklists, charts, and note-
taking systems that allow to convey to the student the basis for
the teacher’s conclusions.
4- Small percentage of a grade should be allocated to behavior,
motivation, or effort, and at the end a teacher can give his
student a final grade.

Task 1
Complete this table:
Type of test Definition
 20
Testing and Assessment in English Language

Task 2
Complete the Diagram below in terms of the steps followed
in constructing classroom tests:

Classroom Tests Construction

2.2 Additional Ways of Labeling Tests and Other Assessment

Tools:

1- Objective versus Subjective Tests

Sometimes tests are distinguished by the manner in which
they are scored. An objective test is scored by comparing a
student’s responses with an established set of acceptable/correct
responses on an answer key. With objectively scored tests, the
scorer does not require particular knowledge or training in the
examined area. In contrast, a subjective test, such as writing an
essay, requires scoring by opinion or personal judgment so the
human element is very important.
 21
Testing and Assessment in English Language
The table below summarizes the comparison between
subjective and objective question items:
Objective items Subjective items
1- They are scored by an answer key 1- They are scored depending on
impression, human judgment, and
opinion at the time of scoring.
2- Items are usually short answer- 2- They require students to produce,
closed response. longer, more open-ended
responses.
3- Items test recognition mostly. 3- They emphasize production.
4- quick and easy to grade. 4- easier to write.
5- They are difficult to write well. 5- They are difficult and time
consuming to score.
6- If there are enough of objective 6- A lot of variation is possible in
items, they are quite reliable. the responses since they are open-
ended.
7- They are developed by teachers 7- Reliability could be problematic
before the test administration. because of human scoring factor.
8- They have relatively few response 8- The workload takes place for
options. teachers after the test has been
administered.
9- They are Flexible to be used to 9- They are used to show student’s
test both global and detailed abilities in writing, creativity,
understanding of a text or focus criticism and appreciation.
on specific areas of language like
grammar and vocabulary.
Testing formats associated with objective tests are Multiple-
Choice questions, True/False, and Matching. Objectively scored
tests are ideal for computer scanning. The score for the correct
 22
Testing and Assessment in English Language
answer should be a total score (e.g. one) whereas the score for the
incorrect answer should be zero. Example of subjectively scored
tests are essay tests, interviews, or comprehension questions.

2- Criterion-Referenced versus Norm-Referenced

Criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) are usually developed to
measure mastery of well-defined instructional objectives specific
to a particular course or program. Their purpose is to measure
how much learning has occurred. Student performance is
compared only to the amount or percentage of material learned.
True CRT’s are devised before instruction is designed so that the
test will match the teaching objectives. This lessens the possibility
that teachers will “teach to the test.” The criterion or cut-off score
is set in advance. Student achievement is measured with respect
to the degree of learning or mastery or the pre-specified content.
A primary concern of a CRT is that it be sensitive to different
ability levels.
Norm-referenced tests (NRTs) or standardized tests differ
from CRT in a number of ways. NRT are designed to measure
global language abilities. They provide measure of students’
proficiency using international benchmarks. Students’ scores are
interpreted relative to all other students who take the exam. The
purpose of an NRT is to spread students out along a continuum of
scores so that those with low abilities in a certain skill are at one
end of the normal distribution and those with high scores are at
the other end, with the majority of the students falling between
 23
Testing and Assessment in English Language
the extremes. The NRT must have been previously administered
to a large sample of people from the target population. Acceptable
standards of achievement are determined after the test has been
developed and administered. Test results are interpreted with
reference to the performance of a given group or norm. The norm
is typically a large group of students who are similar to the
individuals for whom the test is designed.

3- Summative versus Formative Tests

Tests that are administered at the end of the course to
determine if students have achieved the objectives set out in the
curriculum are called summative assessments. They are often
used to decide which students move on to a higher level.
Formative tests are carried out with the aim of using the
results to improve instruction, so they are given during a course
and feedback is provided to students.

4- Traditional Versus Alternative Assessment

Traditional assessment mainly deals with tests and testing.
While alternative assessment asks students to show what they can
do; students are evaluated on what they integrate and produce
rather than on what they are able to recall and reproduce.
Alternative assessment differ from traditional testing in that it:
1- does not intrude on regular classroom activities,
2- reflects the curriculum actually being implemented in the
classroom,
 24
Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of each
individual student;
4- provides multiple indices that can be used to gauge student
progress, and
5- is more multiculturally sensitive and free of the linguistic and
cultural biases found in traditional testing.
Several types of alternative assessment can be used in language
classrooms such as self-assessment (reports), Portfolio, Student-
made tests, Learner-centered assessment, Projects, and
Presentations.

Task 1
Compare and contrast among the different types or labels of
tests by completing the table below:
Label Compare Contrast
 25
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 2
Complete the following diagram:
Types of Labels

According According According According

to scoring to purpose to Administration to Historical view

To sum up, the following are recommended in assessing

students’ development:
1- Students should be provided with assessment opportunities that
reflect language use and the context in which it is used.
2- Teacher assessment practices must reflect the importance of
using language both in and out of the language classroom.
3- Teachers should use multiple measures or types of assessment
because no single measure of language assessment is enough to
tell us all we need to know about our students’ language
abilities. This will give us an accurate reading of our students’
progress and level of language proficiency.
 26
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter Three
Characteristics of a Good language Test

There are basic considerations in test design. Language

testing at any level is a highly complex process that must be based
on theory as well as practice. There are several principles that
govern good test design, development and analysis. They are
described below:
1- Usefulness
Usefulness is the most important consideration in designing
and developing a language test which deals with the use for which
the test is intended. It provides a kind of metric by which teachers
can evaluate not only the tests that they develop and use, but also
all aspects of test development and use. It needs to take into
consideration that any language test must be developed with a
specific purpose, a particular group of test-takers, and a specific
language use in mind.

2- Validity
Validity refers to the extent to which a test measures what it
purports to measure. It means “test what you teach and how you
teach it.” Validity includes several types as content, construct and
face validity. Content validity means that the test assesses the
course content and outcomes using formats familiar to the
students. It is essentially the systematic examination of the test
content to determine whether it covers a representative sample of
 27
Testing and Assessment in English Language
the behavior domain to be measured. Several guidelines are
provided by Anastasi (1982:13) to establish content validity:
1- The behavior domain to be tested must be systematically
analyzed to make certain that all major aspects are covered by
the test items, and in the correct proportions;
2- The domain under consideration should be fully described in
advance, rather than being defined after the test has been
prepared.
3- Content validity depends on the relevance of the individual’s
test responses to the behavior area under consideration, rather
than on the apparent relevance of item content.
The second type of validity is construct validity which refers
to the fit between the underlying theories and methodology of
language learning and the type of assessment. For example, a
communicative language learning approach and syllabus must be
matched by communicative language testing. It is the extent to
which the test may be said to measure a theoretical construct or
trait. It derives from established inter-relationships among
behavioral measures. It requires the gradual accumulation of
information from a variety of sources. It is viewed from a purely
statistical perspective in much of the recent American literature. It
is seen principally as a matter of the posteriori statistical
validation of whether a test has measured a construct which has a
reality independent of other constructs.
Face validity is the third type which means that the test
looks as though it measures what it is supposed to measure. As
 28
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Anastasi (1982:136) believes, “face validity is not validity in the
technical sense; it refers, not to what the test actually measures,
but to what it appears superficially to measure.” If a test does not
have face validity though, it may not be acceptable to the students
taking it, or the teachers and receiving institutions who may make
use of it. Face validity is an important factor for both students and
administrators. Moreover, a professional-looking exam has more
credibility with students and administrators than a sloppy one. It
is important to be clear about what we want to assess and then be
certain that we are assessing that material and not something else.
Making sure that clear assessment objectives are met is of
primary importance in achieving test validity. The best way to
ensure validity is to produce tests of specifications.
Validity is the starting point in test task design. However,
for a test to be valid, it must also be reliable. It a test is reliable
you should be able to depend on the results it produces.
Reliability without validity is pointless.
3- Reliability
Reliability refers to the consistency of test scores, which
simply means that a test would offer similar results if it were
given at another time. It is of various types such as:
1- If you gave the test again you would hope to get much the
same results, although various factors might intervene to
render this unlikely. This is called test-retest. It is not used
with achievement tests.
 29
Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- If you gave the students an equivalent test that you have
confidence in, the two tests should give you a similar picture
of students’ language ability. This is called equivalent-forms.
3- If we have different scorers for a writing test, the closer the
agreement among them, the more reliable a test . This is called
rater (scorer) reliability.
4- Practicality
Consideration must also be given to practical matters.
Practicality deals with the amount of time spent in designing the
test, administering it, scoring it, and processing the results.
Teachers can not afford to spend too much time in writing tests or
take days testing students and scoring scripts. It is also called test
efficiency. A valid and reliable test is of little use if it does not
prove to be a practical one which means economy, ease of
administration, scoring, and interpretation of results. The longer it
takes to construct, administer and score, and the more skilled
personnel and equipment that are involved, the higher the costs
are likely to be.
5- Washback
Washback refers to the effect of testing on teaching and
learning. Washback is generally said to be positive or negative.
Unfortunately, students and teachers tend to think of the negative
effects of testing such as “test driven” curricula and only studying
and learning “what they need to know for the test.” In contrast,
positive washback, or what we prefer to call “guided washback”,
benefits teachers, students, and administrators because it assumes
 30
Testing and Assessment in English Language
that testing and curriculum design are both based on clear course
outcomes that are known to both students and teachers/testers. If
students perceive that tests are markers of their progress toward
achieving these outcomes, they have a sense of accomplishment.
6- Authenticity
Language learners are motivated to perform when they are
faced with tasks that reflect real-world situations and contexts.
Good testing or assessment strives to use formats and tasks that
mirror the types of situations in which students would
authentically use the target language. Whenever possible, teachers
should attempt to use authentic materials in testing language
skills.
7- Transparency
Transparency refers to the availability of clear, accurate
information to students about testing. Such information should
include outcomes to be evaluated, formats used, weighting of
items and sections, time allowed to complete the test, and scoring
criteria. Transparency dispels the myths and mysteries
surrounding testing and the sometimes seemingly adversarial
relationship between learning and assessment. Transparency
makes students part of the testing process.
8- Security
Security is part of both reliability and validity for all tests. If
a teacher invests time and energy in developing good tests that
accurately reflect the course outcomes, then it is desirable to be
able to recycle the test materials. In this case the test is secured.
 31
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Commbe etal (2007) put ten things for a teacher to remember in
constructing a good test based on the above characteristics:
1- Test what has been taught and how it has been taught. This is
the basic concept of content validity. In achievement testing, it
is important to only test students on what has been covered in
class and to do this through formats and techniques they are
familiar with.
2- Set tasks in context whenever possible. This is the basic
concept of authenticity. Authenticity is just as important in
language testing as it is in language teaching. Whenever
possible, develop assessment tasks that mirror purposeful real-
life situations.
3- Choose formats that are authentic for tasks and skills.
4- Specify the material to be tested. This is the basic concept of
transparency. It is crucial that students have information about
how they will be assessed and have access to the criteria on
which they will be assessed. This transparency will lower
students’ test anxiety.
5- Acquaint students with techniques and formats prior to testing.
Students should never be exposed to a new format or technique
in a testing situation. Doing so could affect the reliability of
your test. Do not avoid new formats; just introduce them to
your classes in a low-stress environment outside the testing
situation.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
6- Administer the test in uniform, non-distracting conditions.
Make sure your testing conditions and procedures are
consistent among different groups of students.
7- Provide timely feedback. Feedback is of no value if it arrives
in the students’ hands too late to do anything with it. It should
be provided in a timely manner. Give easily scored objective
tests back during the next class. Aim to return subjective tests
that involve more scoring within three class periods.
8- Reflect on the exam without delay. Often teachers are too tired
after scoring the exam to do anything else. Don’t shortchange
the last step-that of reflection. Remember, all stakeholders in
the exam process (that includes you, the teacher) must benefit
from the exam.
9- Make changes based on analyses and feedback from
colleagues and students. An important part of the reflection
phase is the opportunity to revise the exam when it is still fresh
in your mind. This important step will save you time later in
the process.
10- Employ multiple measures assessment in your classes. Use a
variety of types of assessment to determine the language
abilities of your students. No one type of assessment can give
you all the information you need to accurately assess your
students.
 33
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 1
Complete the following table in terms of test characteristics:
Characteristics Definition

Task 2
Draw a diagram showing test characteristics.
 34
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter Four
Communicative Test Construction

There are four stages which are currently accepted as the

best practice in communicative test construction and validation,
namely: Design, Development, Operation, and Monitoring (Weir,
1990):
1. Test Design
Test design means the specification of the general
descriptive parameters of the target test population’s context of
situation, irrespective of differing views on the most appropriate
methodology for doing so. These parameters are useful to the
tester as a checklist against which the appropriacy of performance
based test tasks can be evaluated. The parameters that it would be
important to collect information on include:
1- Activities: the sub-tasks students have to cope with while
participating in events.
2- Setting: the physical and psycho-social contexts of the events.
3- Interaction: the role set and social relationships students are
involved in.
4- Instrumentality: the medium, mode, and channel of the
activities within events.
5- Dialect: the dialects and accents students are exposed to.
6- Enabling skills: the underlying skills which appear to be
necessary to enable students to operate in the various
activities.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

In communicative language testing, there would seem to be an

emphasis not on linguistic accuracy, but on the ability to function
effectively through language in particular settings and contexts.
This involves the notion that linguistic activity in the test should
be of the kinds and under the conditions which approximate to
real life. There are certain communicative characteristics which
are considered important in the design of communicative tests
(Weir, 1983; Morrow, 1979):
1- Realistic context: the test task should be regarded as
appropriate to the testee’s situation.
2- Relevant information gap: testees should have to process new
information as they might in the real-life situation.
3- Intersubjectivity: the tasks should involve testees both as
language receivers and language producers. In addition the
language produced by the testees should be modified in
accordance with what their expectations of the addressee are
perceived to be.
4- Scope for development of activity by the testees: the task
should give testees the chance to assert their communicative
independence and allowance should also be made for the
creative unpredictability of communication in the tasks set
and the scoring schemes that are applied.
5- Allowance for self monitoring by testees: the tasks should
allow students to use their discourse processing strategies to
 36
Testing and Assessment in English Language
evaluate their communicative effectiveness and make any
necessary adjustments in the course of an event.
6- Processing of appropriately sized input: the size and scope of
the activities should be such that they are processing the kind
of input they would normally be expected to.
7- Normal time constraints operative: the task should be
accomplished under normal time constraints.

Test task dimensions might usefully take into account the

following:
1- size of text: the length of the text, receptive or productive, that
is involved in the event.
2- Grammatical complexity and range of cohesion devices
required in the event.
3- Functional range: the degree of variety of illocutionary acts
involved in the event.
4- Referential range: the breadth and depth of lexical knowledge
required to handle activities in the event.
Data could be gathered to make such a kind of specification for
a communicative test by conducting needs analysis by using
observation checklists, interviews, and questionnaires.

2. Test Development
Once a satisfactory specification has been drawn up it has to
be developed into test items with appropriate accompanying texts
(the questions of specificity and authenticity of texts should have
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
been resolved in the design stage). Formats should be selected
and items written to reflect as closely as possible the discourse
processing activities of the target situation.
The pilot test should undergo a further validation check at
this stage by inviting professionals in the field to comment on the
suitability of texts formats and items. Any necessary amendments
should be made in the light of this scruitny. Methods for training
test administrators and scorers need to be formalized and tried out
before the trialling of the test.
The test then needs to be trialled and great care should be
exercised to ensure that the sample of testees in the trial is
adequate for the degree of precision required and as representative
of the target population as is feasible. Opinion also needs to be
elicited from test takers, lay advisers and professionals with
regard to content, and perceived problems in test taking.
Empirical evidence of the external validity of the test needs
to be established through concurrent validation procedures.
Reliability needs to be estimated in the ways described above.
Analysis at the item, task and construct level needs to be carried
out to ensure that items and tasks are working satisfactorily. The
test then needs to be revised in the light of the qualitative and
quantitative data generated concerning its reliability, validity and
efficiency.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3. Test Operation
This stage is concerned with preparing for and conducting
the first actual operation of a new test. It involves the preparation,
printing and distribution of appropriate information manuals for
testees, receiving institutions, invigilators and scorers.
Decisions have to be taken in advance on how testees are to
be familiarized with test formats, especially if the new test
represents a radical departure from previous test types. Sample
tests could be made available to enable testees to familiarize
themselves in advance with test procedures.

4. Test Monitoring
The results of each administration of the test should be
carefully monitored and ideally stored on a data base.
Consideration needs to be given to ongoing and future revisions
of the test.
It is necessary to monitor the washback of the new test on
the teaching that has preceded it in the classrooms. There should
be predictive studies where appropriate to see if a proficiency test
is identifying those who can and those who cannot, and many
other procedures. In fact, the hard-pressed classroom teacher does
not usually have the time or the resources to conform fully to the
stages outlined above and may well ask if it is possible to achieve
anything worthwhile within the constraints imposed by the school
situation. The simple answer is that at the very least it is possible
to be more rigorous in test task design and if effort is expended in
 39
Testing and Assessment in English Language
this initial but crucial construction stage of test development,
much can be achieved.

Task 1
Complete the table below in terms of stages of construction
of communicative language tests
Stage Definition

Task 2
Draw a diagram showing the stages of communicative
language test construction.

Techniques for Communicative Language Testing

Constructing test items and tasks for any type of assessment
is a task filled with challenges, because test items are the
foundation of tests and the backbone of most assessment
 40
Testing and Assessment in English Language
instruments. Test items can be classified in a number of ways.
They are either selection or supply items. With selection items, a
student selects the correct answer from a number of presented
options, such as True/False, Multiple Choice, and Matching. With
supply items, students must supply or construct the correct
answer, such as Cloze or Gap-Fill, and Essay questions.
On the other hand, items can also be classified by the way
they are scored as objective or subjective. Objective test items can
be scored based only on following an answer key. Scoring
objective items requires no expert judgment, specialist
knowledge, or subjectivity on the part of the scorer. While scoring
subjective items requires that the scorer have knowledge of the
content area being tested. Scoring a subjective test frequently
depends on impression, human judgment, and opinion at the time
of the scoring. The following chapters present a description of test
methods along the discrete point/integrative continuum which can
be used in all language skills assessment.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter Five
Testing Reading Comprehension

Reading is a key skill for every teacher of English language.

It is a complex skill that includes both bottom-up skills
(recognizing and making sense of letters, words, and sentences),
and top-down processing that deals with whole texts. Most
language teachers, therefore, assess reading through the
component subskills. Coombe et al (2007) believe that when
assessing reading, a teacher should remember the following:
1- Make sure your assessment matches your reading program.
Test the skills you teach, and consider the target situation of
your learners when developing reading assessment.
2- Sample a range of reading subskills with different task types.
Variety is good, but use four to ten items for each task type to
avoid students’ scores being affected by constant adjustment
to different tasks.
3- Choose a range of text types appropriate to your program.
Consider your students’ background knowledge and interests
in selecting texts. Some familiarity with the topic or
vocabulary aids comprehension. Never use texts that students
have already read.
4- Use both prose and non-linear texts. Do not forget that many
daily reading tasks use non-linear texts such as diagrams,
graphs, maps, and schedules. If you teach students to read
non- linear texts, then by all means include them in
 42
Testing and Assessment in English Language
assessment. Remember: Good assessment mirrors actual
teaching.
5- Use authentic or adapted texts whenever possible. Check the
texts for readability levels and vocabulary. Be certain that
copied authentic materials are legible! Credit your sources.
6- Exploit the entire text. Vary whole-text questions with those
that focus on specific sections. Questions should cover all
sections of a text.
7- Include grammar and vocabulary in context. Emphasize the
importance of structure and vocabulary to reading
comprehension by including these contributing skills in your
assessment.
8- There is a place for separate assessment of grammar and
vocabulary. Sometimes you will want to focus classroom
assessment on recently covered grammar points or vocabulary.
9- Assess inferencing and critical thinking. It is easy to ask
questions about specific, stated details, but much more
challenging to create items that require students to think
beyond the printed text. Include questions that require students
to think beyond what they see in print.
10- Consider timing to assess skimming and scanning. Since these
reading strategies need to be performed quickly, think about
their placement in your assessment, if you cannot time
separate sections, place scanning tasks at the end.
For classroom assessment, we normally focus on certain
important skills that can be divided into major and minor reading
 43
Testing and Assessment in English Language
skills. These categories are based on whether the skills pertain to
large segments of the text or focus on local structural or lexical
points. So, major reading skills include:
1- reading quickly to skim for gist, scan for specific details, and
establish overall organization of the passage,
2- reading carefully for main ideas, supporting details, author’s
argument and purpose, relationship of paragraphs, and fact
versus opinion,
3- information transfer from nonlinear texts, and
4- drawing inferences from both stated and implied content.
Whereas, minor reading skills include:
1- understanding at the sentence level (vocabulary, syntax,
cohesive markers)
2- understanding at inter-sentence level (identifying what
pronouns refer to, recognizing discourse markers)
3- understanding components of nonlinear texts (the meaning of
graph or chart labels, keys, and the ability to find and interpret
intersection points)

Grammar and vocabulary are contextualized as part of reading

passages instead of being assessed separately.

Test methods and techniques used in reading comprehension

could also be applied in testing listening comprehension,
structure, and vocabulary as well.
 44
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 1
Draw a diagram showing major reading skills

Task 2
Draw a diagram showing minor reading skills.

Task 3
Search for other major and minor reading skills and list them in
the table below:
Major Reading Skills Minor Reading Skills
 45
Testing and Assessment in English Language
1. Multiple – choice questions (MCQs)
A multiple – choice test is usually set out in such a way that
the testee is required to select the answer from a number of given
options, only one of which is correct. The scoring process is
totally objective because the scorer is not permitted to exercise
judgment when scoring the testee’s answer; agreement has
already been reached as to the correct answer for each item.
Selecting and setting items are, however, subjective processes and
the decision about which is the correct answer is a matter of
subjective judgment on the part of the item writer.

Advantages:
1- In multiple – choice tests there is almost complete scorer
reliability. Testees’ scores unlike those in subjective formats,
can not be affected by the personal judgment or idiosyncrasies
of scorer. The scoring, as well as being reliable, is simple,
more rapid and often more cost effective than other forms of
written test.
2- Because items can be pre-tested fairly easily, it is usually
possible to estimate in advance the difficulty level of each
item and that of the test as a whole. Ambiguities in wording of
items may also be revealed by analysis of the pre-test data and
can then be clarified or removed in the test pager.
3- The format of the MCT item is such that the intentions of the
test compiler are clear and unequivocal; the testees know what
is required of them.
 46
Testing and Assessment in English Language
4- MCT avoid deploy the skill of writing such as in short answer
questions and other more open-ended formats.

Disadvantages:
1- in MCQs, we don’t know whether the testee’s failure is due to
lack of comprehension of the text or lack of comprehension of
the question. A testee might get an item right by eliminating
wrong answers, a different skill from being able to choose the
right answer in the first place.
2- The scores gained in MCQ tests may be suspect because the
testee has guessed all or some of the answers as in true/false
tests.
3- Multiple-choice tests take much longer time and are more
expensive and difficult to prepare than open-ended tests.
Therefore, each item has to be rigorously edited to ensure that:
a- There is no superfluous information in the stem.
b- The spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct.
c- The language is concise and at an appropriate level for
testees.
d- Enough information has been given to answer the question.
e- There is only one unequivocally correct answer.
f- The distractors are wrong but plausible and discriminate at
the right level.
g- The responses are homogeneous, of equal length and
mutually exclusive and the item is appropriate for the test.
 47
Testing and Assessment in English Language
4- it is extremely time-consuming and demanding to get the
requisite number of satisfactory items for a passage, especially
for testing skills such as skimming.
5- There is considerable doubt about their validity as measures of
language ability. What the test constructor has inferred as the
correct answer might not be what other readers infer, or
necessarily be explicit in the text.

MCQs are the hardest type of objective questions to write for

classroom teachers. Teachers should keep the following guiding
principles in mind when writing MCQs:
1- The question or task should be clear from the stem of the
MCQ. Write MCQs that test only one concept.
2- Take background knowledge into account. The selection of the
correct or best answer should involve interpretation of the
passage / stem, not merely the activation of background
knowledge.
3- Provide as much context as possible. The MCQ format is often
criticized for its lack of authenticity. Whenever possible, set
items in context.
4- Keep sensitivity and fairness issues in mind. It is important to
write items that do not unfairly advantage or disadvantage
certain groups of students. It is also crucial to avoid item
content that could be offensive or upsetting.
5- Standardize the number of response options. The optimum
number of response options for foreign / second language
 48
Testing and Assessment in English Language
testing is: “four” for grammar, vocabulary, and reading; and
“three” for listening. Consequently, it is better to be consistent
within a test and to have a uniform number of options for the
test items.
6- One response options should be an unambiguous correct or
best answer. The three remaining options function as
distractors which should attract testees who are unsure of the
answer.
7- All response options should be similar in length and level of
difficulty. Response options should be consistent with the stem
and parallel in length and grammar with each other.
8- Avoid using distractors like “none of the above”, or “a, b, and
sometimes c, but never d” options.
9- Correct answers should appear equally in all positions.
Randomly assign correct answers. Don’t unconsciously
introduce a pattern into the test that will help the students who
are guessing or who do not know the answer to get the correct
answer.
10- Move recurring information in response options to the stem.
If the same words appear in all response options, take these
words out of the response options and put them in the stem.
11-Avoid writing absurd or giveaway distractors. Do not waste
space by including funny or implausible distractors in your
items. All distractors should appear for a valid pedagogical
reason.
 49
Testing and Assessment in English Language
12-Avoid extraneous clues, i.e. unintentional grammatical,
phonological, or morphological clues that assist testees in
answering an item without having the requisite knowledge or
skill being tested.
13- Make the stem positive. Writing the stem in the affirmative
tends to make the question more understandable. Introducing
negatives increases the difficulty and discrimination of the
question.
14- Make sure all questions are independent of one another.
Avoid sequential items where the successful completion of one
question presupposes a correct answer to the preceding
question.
15- Use statistics to help you understand your MCQs such as item
analysis.

There are certain MCQ Item Violations:

1- Grammatical inconsistency between the stem and the
response options, e.g. some of the options are verbs others
are nouns.
2- Extraneous cues which can occur either within an item or
within the test. An extraneous clue that occur within the test
is one where students can find the answers to a question
somewhere else on the test paper in another section of the
test.
 50
Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- 3 for 1 split item violation which occurs when three
distractors are parallel and one is not. It is sometimes called
“Odd man out.”
4- Impure items are those that test more than one thing.
5- Apples and oranges violation is one where two responses
options have no relation to the other two.
6- Subsuming response options where the intended answer and a
very good distractor could both be correct.
7- Unparallel options occur when the response options are not
parallel either in length or in grammatical consistency.
8- Gender bias in language is related to using vocabulary that
relates to gender.
9- Sensitivity means that materials that have a negative
emotional impact on students should be avoided. Test items
content that could be upsetting or shocking to students are not
advisable.
10- Double answer or key is the most commonly made among
teachers. It occurs when more than one response option is
correct.
11- No answer occurs when the author of the test item forgets to
include the key among the list of response options. It happens
when the item has undergone various revisions and rewrites.
12- Giveaway distractors occur when test-takers are able to
improve their scores by eliminating absurd or giveaway
distractors.
 51
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 1
Based on the text related to MCQs, construct a test of
five MCQ items.

Task 2
Give one example for each MCQ item violations by
constructing an item per violation.

2. Short Answer Questions / Completion

They are questions which require the testee to write down
specific answers in spaces provided on the question paper. The
technique is extremely useful for testing both reading and
listening comprehension. In this type testees are asked to answer
in a few words, phrases, or sentences.

Advantages
1- Answers are not provided for the students as in multiple-
choice; therefore if a student gets the answer right, one is
more certain that this has not occurred for reasons other than
comprehension of the text.
2- With careful formulation of the questions a testee’s response
can be brief and thus a large number of questions may be set
in this format, enabling a wide coverage.
 52
Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- If the number of acceptable answers to a question is limited,
it is possible to give fairly precise instructions to the
examiners who score them.
4- Activities such as inference, recognition of a sequence,
comparison and establishing the main idea of a text, require
the relating of sentences in a text with other items which
may be some distance away in the text. This can be done
effectively through short answer questions where the answer
has to be sought rather than being one of those provided.

Disadvantages
1- The main disadvantage is that it involves the testee in
writing and there is some concern, largely anecdotal, that
this interferes with the measurement of the intended
construct.
2- Care is needed in the setting of items to limit the range of
possible acceptable responses and the extent of writing
required.

There are two important points to bear in mind when writing short
answer / completion items:
1- There should be only one short, concise answer. Responses
that are short and concise are easier to score. Teachers
should specify the number of words if there is a limit.
 53
Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- Allow for partial credit. Teachers should consider the issue
of partial credit for answers that have varying degrees of
correctness. A major goal of testing / assessment is giving
students credit for what they know.

Task 1
Based on the text related to short answer
questions/completion, construct a test of at least 10 items.

Task 2
Compare between MCQs and short answer/completion tests
in the table below.
MCQs Short answer/Completion
 54
Testing and Assessment in English Language
[Link]
In the cloze procedure, words are deleted from a text after
allowing a few sentences of introduction. The deletion rate is
mechanically set, usually between every fifth and eleventh word.
Testees have to fill each gap by supplying the word they think has
been deleted.
Cloze testing originated in the 1950s as a test of reading
comprehension. Some writers believe that conventional cloze
tests involve the removal of words at regular intervals, usually
every six to eight words and normally not less than every five.
The testees have to read around the gap, and more specifically
they must refer to the text on either side of the gap, taking into
account meaning and structure to process the answer. Cloze tests
can test a wide variety of language area.

Advantages
1- Cloze tests are easy to construct and easily scored if the
exact word scoring procedure is adopted.
2- With a fifth word deletion rate, a large number of items can
be set on a relatively short text and these can exhibit a high
degree of internal consistency in terms of Kuder-Richardson
coefficients.
3- In the literature, cloze tests are often feted as valid and
uniform measures of reading comprehension.
 55
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Disadvantages
1- There are doubts concerning its validity as a testing device
in terms of the assumption that it randomly samples the
elements in a text.
2- Cloze procedures are not a unitary procedure, since there is
a marked lack of comparability among the tests it may be
used to produce. Different cloze tests produced by
variations in certain of the variables, give unpredictably
different measures, particularly of proficiency in English as
a foreign language.
3- The evidence is contradictory about the differing scoring
methods to be adopted in scoring a cloze procedure. Such a
test is not suitable for productive skills of speaking and
writing and scores on cloze cannot easily be related to
native speaker performance since native speaker
performance varies considerably from one cloze test to
another.
4- The cloze procedure seems to produce more successful tests
of syntax and lexis at sentence level than of reading
comprehension in general or of inferential or deductive
abilities, what might be termed higher order abilities.
5- Perhaps the most crucial reservation is the question of what
performance on a cloze test really tells us about a testtee’s
language ability. It is difficult to translate scores on a cloze
test to a description of what a testee can or can’t do in real
life.
 56
Testing and Assessment in English Language
The following points can help you write effective cloze
tests:
1- Ensure that answers are concise. The response that goes in
the blank should not be overly long. Make sure there is
enough room in the blank to comfortably write the
response.
2- Provide enough context. There needs to be sufficient
context present for students to surmise what goes in the
blank.
3- Blanks should be of equal length. Providing blanks that
differ in length implies responses of varying lengths. The
main body of the question should precede the blank.
4- Develop and allow for a list of acceptable responses. When
scoring cloze, be sure to allow for the possibility of more
than one answer.
5- Don’t put a gap in the first sentence of a paragraph or text.
Normally the initial sentence in a paragraph or text is used
to set the context for the reading to follow. Including
questions in this part of the text can be problematic for
students.
Task 1
Based on the text related to Cloze, design a Cloze test
showing the criteria you depended on in the deletion of words.
 57
Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 2
Compare between Cloze test and Short answer/Completion
test in the table below.
Cloze Short answer/Completion

4. Selective Deletion Gap Filling

In the light of recent negative findings on mechanical
deletion cloze, increasing support has developed for the view that
the test constructor should use a “rational cloze,” selecting items
for deletion based upon what is known about language, about
difficulty in text and about the way language works in a particular
text. Linguistic reasoning is used to decide on deletions and so it
is easier to state what each test is intended to measure.

Advantages
1- Selective deletion enables the test constructor to determine
where deletions are to be made and so focus on those items
which have been selected a priori as being important to a
particular target audience.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- It is also easy for the test writer to make any alterations
shown to be necessary after item analysis and to maintain
the required number of items. This might involve
eliminating items that have not performed satisfactorily in
terms of discrimination and facility value.

Disadvantages
1- It is important to stress that this technique restricts one to
sampling a much more limited range of enabling skills than
do the short answer and multiple – choice formats. Gap
filling only normally allows the testing of sentence bound
reading skills.
2- If the purpose of a test is to sample the range of enabling
skills including the more extensive skills such as skimming,
then an additional format to gap filling is essential.
It is worth mentioning that the same points that can help you
write effective cloze test can be applied in terms of Gap-filling
items.

Task 1
Design a selective deletion gap filling test of 5 items at
least, based on the material related to the type of test.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 2
List the similarities and differences between a selective
deletion gap filling test and a short answer/completion test in the
table below:
Similarities Differences

5. C- Tests
Recently an alternative to cloze and selective deletion gap
filling has emerged for testing comprehension of the more
specifically linguistic elements in a text. The C-test is an
adaptation of the cloze technique based on the same theoretical
rationale as cloze, viz., testing ability to cope with reduced
redundancy and predict from context. In the C-test every second
word in a text is partially deleted. In an attempt to ensure
solutions, testees are given the first half of a deleted word. The
testee completes the word on the test paper and an exact word
scoring procedure is adapted.
Advantages
1- With C-tests a variety of texts are recommended, and given
the large number of items that can be generated on small
texts. This further enhances the representative nature of the
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
language being sampled. Normally a minimum of 100
deletions are made and these are more representative of the
passage as a whole than is possible under the cloze
technique.
2- The task can be objectively scored because it is rare for
there to be more than one possible answer for any one gap.
3- Whereas in cloze the performance of native speakers on the
test is highly variable, it is much more common for native
speakers to be able to score 100 per cent on C-tests.
4- The C-test is economical and the result obtained to date are
encouraging in terms of reliability and internal and external
validity.

Disadvantages
1- Since it has recently appeared, there is little empirical
evidence of its value.
2- This technique suffers from the fact that it is irritating for
testees to have to process heavily mutilated texts and the
face validity of the procedure is low.

It is also applicable that the same points used to help you write
effective cloze tests can be applied with C-tests.

Task 1
Design a C-Test depending on the text related to it. Choose
any paragraph you like to design the C-test.
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Task 2
Compare and contrast between Cloze test and C-tests in the
table below.
Cloze Test C-test

6. Cloze Elide
A technique which is generating interest recently is where
words which do not belong are inserted into a reading passage
and testees have to indicate where these insertions have been
made. In its earlier form it was known as the Intrusive Word
Technique.

Advantage
In comparison with MC Format or Short Answer questions,
the testee does not have the problem of understanding the
question. It has approximately the same item yield as a cloze test.

Disadvantage
Scoring is highly problematic as testees may, for example,
delete items which are correct, but redundant.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 1
Design a cloze elide test by using the information available
in this respect in the same reading text.

Task 2
List the similarities and differences among Cloze test, C-
test, and Cloze elide in the table below.
Cloze Test C-test Cloze Elide

7. Information Transfer
In testing both reading and listening comprehension we
have referred to the problem of the measurement being
“muddied” by having to employ writing to record answers. In an
attempt to avoid this contamination of scores, tasks where the
information transmitted verbally are transferred to a non-verbal
form, e.g., by labeling a diagram, completing a chart or
numbering a sequence of events.

Advantages
1- Such a technique is particularly suitable for testing an
understanding of process, classification, or narrative
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
sequence and are useful for testing a variety of other text
types. It avoids possible contamination from testees having
to write answers out in full.
2- It is a realistic task for various situations and its interest
and authenticity gives it a high face validity in these
contexts.

Disadvantages
1- A good deal of care needs to be taken that the non-verbal
task the students have to complete does not itself complicate
the process. In some tasks students may be able to
understand the text but not what is expected of them in the
transfer phase.
2- There is a danger of cultural and educational bias. Students
in certain subject areas may also be disadvantaged, e.g.
some students in the social sciences may not be as adept in
working in a non-verbal medium as their counterparts in
science disciplines.

Task
Based on the text related to Information Transfer test,
design a test of at least 5 items.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
8. True / False Format (T/F)
T/F questions are second only to multiple choice questions
in frequency of use in professionally produced tests and perhaps
one of the most popular formats for teacher-produced tests.
Basically, they are a specialized form of the MCQ format in
which there are only two possible alternatives and where testees
must classify their answers into one of two response categories.
The common response categories are: True/False, Yes/No,
Correct/Incorrect, Right/Wrong, or Fact/Opinion. Because
True/False is the most common response category, these
questions are generally referred to as True/False questions. T/F
questions are typically written as statements, and the testee’s task
is to decide whether they are True or False. They are attractive to
many test developers because they offer several advantages.

Advantages
1- When you use this question type, you can test large amounts
of content.
2- Because T/F questions are shorter than most other item
types, they typically require less time for testees to respond
to them.
3- Consequently, more items can be incorporated into tests
than is possible with other item types, which increase
reliability.
4- Scoring T/F questions is quick and reliable and can be
accomplished efficiently and accurately.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disadvantages
1- There is a 50 percent guessing factor that the choice will be
correct.
2- With only two possible answers, there is always the danger
that guessing may distort or inflate the final score. To
overcome this disadvantage, it is recommended that
teachers use a third response category called “Not Given” or
“Not Enough Information.” By doing so, the guessing factor
goes for 50 to a more acceptable 33.3 percent. Yet, another
way to alleviate this problem is to ask students to correct
false statements or to find statements in the text that support
either a true or false response. These two methods increase
the diagnostic value of T/F questions.
3- For T/F items to be reliable, you need to include a sufficient
number of them on the test.
The following points can help you write effective T/F
questions:
1- Write items that test meaning rather than trivial detail. T/F
items are said to test gist or intensive understanding very
well.
2- Questions should be written at a lower level of language
difficulty than the text. This is important because you want
to ensure that comprehension is based on understanding of
the text and not understanding of the question itself.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- Consider the effects of background knowledge. Successful
completion of T/F/ Not Given items should depend on the
students’ reading of the text, not on background knowledge.
4- Questions should appear in the same order as the answers
appear in the text. By mixing the order of T/F questions in
reading and listening, you increase the difficulty of these
questions significantly.
5- Make sure you paraphrase questions in simple, clear
language. It is better to paraphrase questions rather than
take them verbatim from the text. Paraphrase by using
vocabulary and grammar from course materials. The
language of the question should be simple and clear yet
have sufficient information to allow its truthfulness to be
judged.
6- Avoid absoluteness clues. Do not use specific determiners
like “all, none, always, and never.” Questions with these
determiners are easy because the answer is most always
false. Similarly, avoid determiners like “sometimes and
some” as they tend to appear in statements that are true.
7- Focus each item on a single idea from the text. Items that
require students to deal with the possible truth or falsity of
two or more ideas at once increase the difficulty of the
question substantially.
8- Avoid answer patterns. Don’t be tempted to write questions
with a specific answer pattern like: TTFFTTFFTT to
facilitate your scoring. Students will soon catch on to these
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
tactics. Answer pattern in your questions should not be
discernable.
9- Include enough questions. T/F questions are a reliable way
of testing students’ comprehension if there are enough
items. It is recommended that teachers include a minimum
of seven to ten questions on their tests when using this
format.
10- Add a third option to decrease the guessing factor, such as
“Not Given” or “Not Enough Information” (NG/NI). These
two options are appropriate for students at the intermediate
levels and higher and should not be used in the assessment
of listening comprehension because students hear the source
text only once, or twice and such options would tax
students’ memory.
11- Have testees circle T, F, or Non the test paper or answer
sheet. By doing so, you will avoid getting those Ts that
suspiciously look like Fs. This will substantially facilitate
your scoring.
Task 1
No less than 10 item, design a True/False/ Not Given Item
test based on the reading text related to True/False Format.

Task 2
Give solutions to the following problems in T/F items.
Problem Solution
1- 50 per cent guessing factor
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- reliability of the T/F
question
3- difficulty in understanding
the question
4- patterning answer
5- writing Ts looking like Fs
6- Less diagnostic value of
T/F questions.

9. Matching Format
Another common objective format is matching. It is an
extended form of MCQ that draws on the students’ ability to
make connections among ideas, vocabulary, and structure.
Matching questions present the students with two columns of
information. Testees’ must find the matches between the two
columns. Items in the left-hand column are called “premises” or
“stems,” and the items in the right-hand column are called
“options”.

Advantages
1- The advantage of matching questions over MCQs is that the
testee has more distractors per item.
2- Writing items in the matching format is somewhat easier for
teachers than either MCQs or T/F/N.

Disadvantages
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
1- Scoring is difficult when testees answer by drawing lines
from option to premise. Therefore, when formatting
matching questions, it is better to draw a line before the
numbers so that testees can write the letter of the correct
answer in the space provided.
2- If both options and premises have an equal number of
choices and testees miss one, they miss at least two
automatically.

To write effective matching questions, options should be more

than premises to function as distractors, and to answer the
questions, testees have space to write the answer in the space
provided thus facilitating the scoring process for teachers.

Task 1
Construct a Matching Test not less than 5 items depending
on the reading text related to Matching Format.

Task 2
List the similarities and differences between MCQs and
Matching questions in the table below:
Similarities Differences
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 3
Find solutions for the problems below in Matching
Questions and testing:
Problems Solutions
1- Difficult MCQs format
2- Difficult scoring when
testees draw lines between
the two columns.
3- Missing at least two choices
automatically
4- Difficult scoring process for
teachers
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Chapter Six
Testing Listening Comprehension

The assessment of listening abilities is one of the least

understood and least developed, yet one of the most important
areas of language testing and assessment.
As teachers we recognize the importance of teaching and
then assessing the listening skills of our students; but for a
number of reasons, we are often unable to do this effectively. One
reason for this is that the listening process is internal and not
subject to direct study and observation. To learn to speak,
students must first learn to understand the spoken language they
hear.
In the past, educators hypothesized that listening was a
passive skill because it could not be observed. In more recent
theoretical models, listening is regarded as an active process.
Another reason for the past neglect of the listening skill was that
the productive skills of writing and speaking were emphasized. In
recent years, however, the position on this has changed, and now
a much greater emphasis is place on listening.
Two methods of listening have been identified: botom-up
processing where listening is believed to be a linear, data-driven
process. In other words, comprehension occurs when the listener
successfully decodes the spoken text. Comprehension occurs in
the bottom-up processing view when students take in a word,
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
decode it, and link it with other words to form sentences. These
sentences ultimately form meaningful texts.
On the other hand, in top-down processing the listener is
directly involved with constructing meaning from input. In this
process, the student uses background knowledge of the context
and situation to make sense of what is heard. We should teach and
assess both types of listening.
Valid and reliable testing of listening comprehension is a
complex process; therefore, we should keep the following points
in mind when constructing listening comprehension questions:
1- Assess listening comprehension even though it is difficult
to assess. One reason for the neglect of listening assessment
materials is the unavailability of culturally appropriate
listening materials suitable for ESL/EFL contexts. The
biggest challenges for teaching and assessing listening
comprehension concern the production of listening
materials. Indeed, listening comprehension assessment is
often avoided because of the time, effort, and expense
required to develop, rehearse, record, and produce high-
quality audiotapes or CDs.
2- Reading texts must be converted to listening texts. A
written text lacks oral features. The closer a text is to oral
language, the more appropriate it will be to assess testee’s
listening comprehension.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- Give credit for what students know. Do not deduce for
spelling or grammar mistakes when your focus is on
listening comprehension.
4- Don’t forget the importance of background knowledge.
Because students do not have multiple passes as the text,
there needs to be sufficient contextualization prior to
listening. To facilitate schema activation, set the context of
the listening in the instructions.
5- Do not just test what is easy to test. Many teachers focus
their test items on local information (e.g. numbers, dates,
places) because these detail-focused items are easier to
write than items that focus on meaning. Make sure your
major focus is on meaning. Include high order thinking
skills as well.
6- Give students a reason for listening. The purpose of the
listening activity should resemble those in real-life
situations. Input should have a communicative purpose. In
other words, the listener must have a reason for listening.
7- Don’t expect full comprehension. Teachers should not
expect students to remember everything they hear; students
often comprehend without being able to remember content.
8- Accept that skill contamination will occur. In a perfect
world, reading or writing would never interfere with the
assessment of the listening skill. In reality, the successful
completion of practically every listening test requires
competence in other language skill areas. However, if the
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
aim is to test listening, testees should not be asked to read
or write too much.
9- Assess all types of listening (top-down/bottom-up and
general/academic). Vary your measures where listening
comprehension is concerned.
10- Do not forget the cornerstones of good testing practice. In
listening, as in all the other skills, teachers should be guided
by the cornerstones of testing: validity, reliability,
practicality, washback, authenticity, transparency, and
security.

I. Testing Extensive Listening Skills

The rationale behind the construction of many of the earlier
listening comprehension tests is to evaluate the students’
comprehension. His degree of comprehension will depend on his
ability to discriminate phoemes, to recognize stress and intonation
patterns, and to retain what he has heard. It was thought that if a
learner was tested in phoneme discrimination, stress and
intonation, the sum of the discrete sub-tests would be equivalent
to his proficiency in listening comprehension.
A noticeable trend in recent years has been the attempt to
differentiate between tests of auditory discrimination and
contextualized tests of listening comprehension. Tests are no
longer assessing individual aural skills in isolation, but instead
tests listening comprehension in an integrated context of
lecturettes or dialogues. There is a move from linguistics to
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
sociolinguistics, from structuralism to functionalism, from
taxonomy and breaking down into skills, into discrete parts, to
integration and building up into wholes, a move from a
concentration on sound, the production of speech, the phonology,
to meaning and communication.
In testing phonemic discrimination, the student listens to
one word spoken in isolation or in a one-sentence context and
then tries to identify which word was said. Usually this task is
done with minimal pairs, two words that differ in only one
phoneme such as:

Ship/sheep
Tank/thank
Live/leave

A strong argument against auditory discrimination as a test

of proficiency in listening comprehension was that the ability to
distinguish between phonemes, however important, did not
necessarily imply an ability to understand verbal messages. In
fact, the key concern of the evaluator is to determine whether the
students have received the message that was intended and not
whether they made certain sound discriminations or identified
specific structural signals.
In line with the paradigm shift described above, it is usual to
provide ongoing and sequential texts as stimuli in a test battery,
though, in terms of the tasks, items and scoring, it might be
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
desirable in certain components of the test to focus on discrete
items. As with tests of reading comprehension, a balance of
integrative and discrete-point is felt to be the most satisfactory
approach for maximizing reliability and validity in a test.

1- Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)

Because of the problems associated with the serial nature of
the listening process, there are additional difficulties in employing
this technique as a measure of listening ability, for example, the
extra burden that is placed on processing by having to keep four
options in mind. On the other hand, other writers believe that
MCQs can be used to assess listening content.

2- Short Answer Questions (SAQs)

Teachers can use short answer question formats to assess
listening, provided that the questions are short and
straightforward.

Advantages
1- SAQs can be a realistic activity for testing listening
comprehension, for example, if one wishes to stimulate
real life activities where notes are taken as somebody
communicates a spoken message. With sufficient care the
responses can be limited and so the danger of the writing
process interfering with the measurement of listening is
largely avoided.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- In contrast to the MC or T/F formats employed in some
tests, one can be more certain that correct answers have not
been arrived at by chance.

Disadvantage
If the testee has to write an answer at the same time as
listening to continuous discourse there are obvious problems. An
unnecessary load might be placed on the memory and vital
information in the ongoing discourse might by missed while the
answer to a previous question is being recorded.

3- Information Transfer Techniques

Information-Transfer testing tasks require students to
transfer information they have heard to a chart or visual, such as
filling in a form or a timetable, labeling a graph, finding
something on a map, and following instructions.

Advantage
Particular advantage for using this type in testing listening is
that the student does not have to process written questions while
trying to make sense of the spoken input. It is particularly
efficient for testing an understanding of sequence, process,
relationships in a text and classification.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Disadvantage
It is often very difficult to find spoken texts which lend
themselves to a non-verbal format. Whereas in reading a certain
amount of editing of texts is feasible and in general a greater
variety of texts are more readily available, this is not the case for
listening texts taken from authentic sources.

Limitations on testing extensive listening are:

1- It is important to note that when making test tasks more like
those in real life, the serial nature of extended spoken
discourse and the greater processing problems associated
with understanding spoken English preclude items which
focus on the more specifically linguistic skills such as
working out the meaning of words from context or
recognizing the meaning value of specific features of stress
or intonation.
2- It is extremely difficult for testees to backtrack and focus on
very specific features of discourse while listening to and
attempting to understand a non-interactive, uninterrupted
monologue. To preserve the integrative nature of the test, we
have to focus questions on the more global processing skills
such as inferencing, listening for specifics or identifying the
main ideas.
3- A serious problem in testing extensive listening by use of the
tape recorder is that the visual element, the wealth of normal
exophoric reference and paralinguistic information, is not
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
available to the testee and perhaps, therefore, the listening
task is made that much more difficult for the testee. The
listener does not normally have to process disembodied
sounds from a tape recorder in real life.

4- Paraphrase Recognition
Paraphrase recognition requires students to listen to a
statement and then select the option closest in meaning to the
statement.
Task 1
Design a test consisting of the following types: MCQs,
SAQs, to test extensive listening skills.

Task 2
Identify and Diagnose the problems faced in testing listening
comprehension.

Task 3
Search for a sample test for the following. You can search in
reference books or the internet:
1- Information-transfer in a form and timetable.
2- Labelling a graph test.
3- Finding something on a map test.
4- Following instructions test.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

II. Testing Intensive Listening Skills

In order to increase the reliability of tests, it is often
advisable to include a more discrete format with the possibility
this gives of including a greater number of specific items. A
dictation or listening recall test can provide this discreteness as
well as being valid in content terms for certain groups of testees,
particularly those involved in academic study through the medium
of English.

1- Dictation
It involves testees to listen to dictated material which
incorporates oral messages typical of those they might encounter
in the target situation. It has been used to assess language skills
for a number of years. In fact, testers classify dictation as an
integrative test because it assesses a wide range of skills.
To do a dictation with your students, you will need to find a
short text of 50-100 words, which you will read three times. You
read it once at normal speed. The second reading is done by
breaking the text into meaningful units or bursts. The last reading
is done at normal speed with no breaks. Students listen during the
first reading for the gist of the text and write down what they hear
during the second reading. The third reading allows students to
check their work and fill in any gaps.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Advantages
1- A dictation can be reliable through the large number of
items that can be generated as well as being valid for
specific situations where dictation might feature as a target
group activity.
2- It is highly correlated with a great variety of other tests such
as cloze, and it is often employed as a useful measure of
general proficiency.
3- As a testing device it measure too many different language
features to be effective in providing a means of assessing
any one particular skill since it reflects an integrative nature
rather than a structural linguistics one.
4- It is an adequate test of listening comprehension because it
tested a broad range of integrative skills.
5- It draws on the learner’s ability to use all the systems of the
language in conjunction with knowledge of the world,
context, etc., to predict what will be said (synthesis of
meaning) and after the message has been uttered to
scrutinise this via the short term memory in order to see if it
fits with what had been predicted (analysis).
6- It tests not only a student’s ability to discriminate
phonological units but also his ability to make decisions
about word boundaries; in this way an examinee discovers
sequences of words and phrases that make sense and from
these he reconstructs a message.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
7- Dictation test results are powerful predictors of language
ability as measured by other kinds of language tests.
Disadvantages
1- It can be useful as part of a battery of listening tests.
2- Dictation will be trivial unless the short memory of the
students is challenged and the length of the utterances
dictated will depend on the listener’s ability up to the limit
that native speaker counterparts could handle.
3- Scoring could be problematic if one wishes to take into
account seriousness of error or if one wishes to adopt a more
communicatively oriented scoring scheme where a score is
given if the testee has understood the substance of the
message and redundant features are ignored.
4- If the dictation is not recorded on tape, the test will be less
reliable, as there will be differences in, for example, the
speed of delivery of the text to different audiences.
5- The exercise can be unrealistic if the texts used have been
previously created to be read rather than heard.

2- Note-Taking
Note-taking is an authentic testing task in academic
programs. Students are actively involved as they write key
information they understand from the input text. Note-taking can
be handled in two ways. Students listen and simultaneously fill
out the question paper or take notes. With this task, note-taking
can be as guided or as unstructured as you want. Alternatively,
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
students listen to the text and take notes, which they then use to
answer questions.

Task 1
Listen to the passage related to “Dictation” read by your
teacher who should follow the steps of doing effective dictation,
and write it down.

Task 2
Listen to the passage related to “Note-Taking” read by your
teacher, then take your own notes, from the text read, on a sheet
of paper.

Task 3
List the similarities and differences between testing
extensive and intensive listening in the table below:
Similarities Differences
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Task 4
Complete the following diagram:
Listening Comprehension
Testing
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Chapter Seven
Testing Writing

The field of writing assessment has developed considerably

over the past fifty years. Teachers ask their students to write on a
variety of topics and then assess them on the message contained
in the writing sample, the clarity and organization of the message,
and the mechanics (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation)
utilized.
Assessing writing skill is important because good writing
ability is highly sought by higher education institutions and
employers. Two major approaches to writing assessment have
been identified:
1- Indirect measures of writing assessment: assess correct
usage in sentence level constructions and assess spelling
and punctuation via objective formats like MCQs and Cloze
test. These measures are supposed to determine a student’s
knowledge of writing sub-skills such as grammar and
sentence construction, which are assessed to constitute
components of writing ability. Indirect writing assessment
measures are more concerned with accuracy than
communication.
2- Direct measures of writing assessment assess a student’s
ability to communicate through the written mode based on
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
the actual production of written texts. This type of writing
assessment requires the student to produce the content; find
a way to organize the ideas, and use appropriate vocabulary,
grammatical conventions, and syntax. Direct writing
assessment integrates all elements of writing.

The design of good writing assessment tests and tasks involves

four basic elements:
1- Rubric: the instructions for carrying out the writing task. A
rubric can also mean the set of criteria on which a piece of
work is evaluated, and it is used in this sense in elementary
education. Good writing instructions or rubrics should:
a- specify a particular rhetorical pattern, length of writing
desired, and amount of time allowed to complete the
task.
b- indicate the resources students will have available at
their disposal (dictionaries, spell/grammar checker, etc.)
and the delivery method of the assessment (i.e. paper and
pencil, laptop).
c- indicate whether a draft or an outline is required.
d- include the overall weight of the writing task as
compared to other parts of the test.
Most of the information in the rubric should come from the test
specification. Test specification for a writing test should provide
the test writer with details on the range of topics, the rhetorical
pattern to be tested, the intended audience, how much information
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
should be included in the rubric, the number of words the student
is expected to produce, and overall weighting.
2- The second essential part of any test of writing is the writing
prompt or the task itself. A prompt is the stimulus the student
must respond to. There are three main prompt formats: base,
framed, and text-based. The first two are the most common in
second/foreign language writing assessment. Base prompts
state the entire task in direct and simple terms, whereas framed
prompts present the writer with a situation that acts as a frame
for the interpretation of the task. Text-based prompts present
writers with a text to which they must respond or utilize in
their writing.
Developing a good writing prompt requires that you use the
appropriate signpost term to match the rhetorical pattern you are
using. Some of the most common signpost terms are:

- Describe give a detailed account

- Discuss argue a thesis, identifying pros and cons
- Explain state and interpret
- Compare show similarities between two things
- Contrast show the differences between two things
- Analyze identify main points and evaluate them
-Define provide the definition and exemplify
- Summarize produce a concise account of the main ideas,
omitting details and examples
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
- Outline provide a summary of main points and sub-
headings
- Evaluate appraise the worth or value of something
Each prompt you use in the assessment of writing should
meet the following criteria:
1- generate the desired type of writing, genre, or rhetorical
pattern,
2- get students involved in thinking and problem-solving,
3- be accessible, interesting, and challenging to students,
4- address topics that are meaningful, relevant, and
motivating,
5- not require specialist background knowledge,
6- use appropriate signpost verbs,
7- be fair and provide equal opportunities for all students to
respond,
8- be clear, authentic, focused and unambiguous, and
9- specify an audience, a purpose, and a context.

3- A third essential element of good writing assessment is the

expected response, i.e. what the teacher intends students to
do with the task. Before communicating information on the
expected response to students, the teacher must have a clear
picture of the type of response the assessment task should
generate.
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4- Post-task evaluation: assessing the effectiveness of your
writing tasks/tests. Good writing tasks are likely to produce
positive responses to the following questions:
- Did the prompt discriminate well among my students?
- Were the essays easy to read and evaluate?
- Were students able to write to their potential and show what
they know?

In recent years, there has been a shift toward the process of

writing rather than on the written product. Some writing tests
assess the whole writing process, from brainstorming activities to
the final draft or finished product. In using this process approach,
students usually have to submit their work in a portfolio that
includes all draft material. A more traditional way to assess
writing is through a product approach. This is usually
accomplished through a timed essay at the middle and endpoint of
the semester. It is recommended that teachers use a combination
of the two approaches in their writing assessment, but the
approach ultimately depends on the course objectives.
When assessing writing, the following points should be
remembered:-
1- Give students multiple writing assessment opportunities.
Provide plenty of opportunities for students at all levels to
practice the type of writing that you expect them to do on
the writing test. Often teachers avoid writing until exam
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time because it is a lot of work to individually score
several drafts of the same essay.
2- Test a variety of writing skills and create tasks of varying
lengths. Take more than one sample of students’ writing.
This reduces the variation in performance that might occur
from task to task. It is widely believed that the
performance on one task is not representative of studnet’s
overall writing ability. The more samples of writing ability
on the test, the more reliable the test.
3- Develop prompts that are appropriate for the students. The
prompts you select or develop should invite the desired
type of writing. They should be realistic and sensitive to
the cultural background of the student. Choose subjects
within the realm of your students’ experience.
4- Evaluate all answers to one question before going to the
next. This practice prevents a shifting of standards from
one question to the next and helps the rater score more
consistently.
5- Score only what the student has written. Do not be
influenced by other factors in addition to the quality of the
work, such as the quality or legibility of the handwriting.
6- Have a systematic approach for dealing with scoring
discrepancies. One such approach might be to take the
average of the two raters for a small discrepancy and
utilize a third rater if there is a big discrepancy.
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7- Get students involved in developing and scoring their
writing tests. Have them suggest prompts they’d like to
write on and get them involved in peer assessment. Share
whatever scoring criteria and rubrics you use with students.
Transparency can help students internalize the rubric so
that it becomes a natural part of their editing process.
8- Provide students with diagnostic feedback. Use writing
assessment results to identify what students can and cannot
do well and provide this information to students. With
analytic scoring scales, you will have access to a profile to
give students feedback. With holistic scoring scales, be
sure to take notes on students’ strengths and areas of
improvement.
9- Practice blind or double blind scoring. Score essays
without looking at students’ names since the general
impression we have of our students is a potential form of
bias. Have students put their names on the back of their
papers or issue each student a candidate number to prevent
bias.
10- Calibrate and recalibrate. The best way to achieve inter-
rater reliability is to practice. Start early in the academic
year by employing the scoring criteria and scale in non-test
situations. Make students aware from the outset of the
criteria and expectations for their work. Reliability can be
increased by using multiple scoring, which reduces the
scope for error that is inherent in a single score.
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Two main types of writing scales for assessing student written

proficiency which are described below:
1- Holistic Scoring Scales
It is based on the scorer’s total impression of the writing as
a whole. It is variously termed as impressionistic, global, or
integrative scoring. It is quick and reliable if three to four people
score each paper. Advantages of this scoring type are:
1- It is reliable if done under no time constraints and if
teachers receive adequate training.
2- This type is generally perceived to be quicker than other
types of writing assessment and enables a large number of
scripts to be scored in a short period of time.
3- Since overall writing ability is assessed, students are not
disadvantaged by one lower component such as poor
grammar bringing down a score.
4- The scores tend to emphasize the writer’s strengths.

Several disadvantages of holistic scoring have also been

identified:
1- It can be unreliable if scoring is done under short time
constraints and with inexperienced, untrained teachers.
2- Longer essays often tend to receive higher scores.
3- Testers point out that reducing a score to one finger tends
to reduce the reliability of the overall score.
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4- It is also difficult to interpret a composite score from a
holistic score.
5- Its inability to provide washback.
6- It provides no diagnostic information on how the scores
were awarded. Thus testers often find it difficult to justify
the rationale for the score.
7- It does not provide a profile of the student’s writing ability.
8- Since this type of scale looks at writing as a whole, there is
the tendency on the part of the scorer to overlook the
various sub-skills that make up writing.

2- Analytical Score Scales

Here, raters provide separate assessments for each of a
number of aspects of performance. Scorers score selected aspects
of a piece of writing and assign point values to quantifiable
criteria. Analytic scoring scales are generally more effective with
inexperienced teachers and more reliable for scales with a larger
point range.

A number of advantages have been identified:

1- Such scoring scales provide teachers with a profile of their
students’ strengths and weaknesses in writing, which is
very useful for diagnostic feedback.
2- It is very reliable if done with a population of inexperienced
teachers who have had little training and who grade under
short time constraints.
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3- Training raters is easier because the scales are explicit and
detailed.

A number of disadvantages are pointed out:

1- It is perceived to be more time consuming because it
requires teachers to rate various aspects of a student’s essay.
2- It also necessitates a set of specific criteria to be written and
scorers to be trained in frequent calibration sessions to
ensure that inter-scorer differences are reduced to increase
validity.
3- Teachers tend to focus on specific areas in an essay such as
content, organization, grammar, mechanics, and vocabulary.

Two different approaches for assessing writing ability can be

adopted as explained earlier:

1- Indirect Methods for Assessing Linguistic Competence:

Writing can be divided into discrete levels, e.g. grammar,
vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation, and these elements can be
tested separately by the use of objective tests, such as cloze,
selective deletion gap filling, and C-tests. Both productive and
receptive skills can be broken down into levels of grammar and
lexis according to a discrete point framework. An interesting
attempt to retain the objectivity and coverage of the discrete point
approach whilst enhancing validity can be found in the editing
task, where the student is given a text containing a number of
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errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation of the type noted as
common by remedial teachers of students in the target group and
is asked to rewrite the passage making all the necessary
corrections.

Advantages
1- As well as being a more objective measurement of
competence, this task may have a good washback effect in
that students may be taught and encouraged to edit their
written work more carefully.
2- It is certainly more face valid than other indirect techniques
as it equals part of the writing process.

Disadvantages
1- If the student rewrites the passage in his own words instead
of just correcting the errors, the problems of scoring are
considerable. There is also some doubt as to whether the
ability to correct somebody else’s errors equates with an
ability to correct one’s own.
2- Scoring can be problematic also if a student alters
something which already correct, a sin of commission
rather than omission.
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2- The Direct Testing of Writing
With more integrative and direct approach to the testing of
writing, we can incorporate items which test a student’s ability to
perform certain of the functional tasks required in the
performance of duties in the target situation.
There are two major techniques for assessing writing: Free
writing which requires students to read a prompt that poeses a
situation and write a planned response based on a combination of
background knowledge and knowledge learned from the course;
and Guided writing which in contrast requires students to
manipulate content that is provided in the prompt, usually in the
form of a chart of diagram.

2.1 Guided Writing

It is a bridge between objective and subjective formats. This
task requires teachers to be clear about what they expect students
to do. Decide in advance whether mechanical issues such as
spelling, punctuation, and capitalization matter when the task
focuses on comprehension. Some important points to keep in
mind for guided writing are:
1- Be clear about expected form and length of response (e.g.
one paragraph, a 250-word essay, a letter).
2- If you want particular information included, clearly specify
it in the prompt (e.g. three causes and effects, two
supporting details).
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3- Similarly, specify the discourse pattern(s) the students are
expected to use (e.g., compare and contrast, cause and
effect, description).
4- Since guided writing depends on the students’ manipulation
of the information provided, ask them to provide something
beyond the prompt such as an opinion, an inference, or a
predication.
5- Be amenable to revising the anticipated answer even as you
score.
2.2 Free-Writing
All of these suggestions are particularly germane to free-
writing. The goal for teachers is to elicit comparable products
from students of different ability levels. Some important points to
keep in mind for free-writing are:
1- The use of multiple raters is especially important in
evaluating free-writing. Agree on scoring criteria in advance
and calibrate before the actual grading session.
2- Decide whether to use holistic, analytical, or a combination
of the two as a rating scale for scoring.
3- If using a band or rating scale, adjust it to the task.
4- Acquaint students with the scoring scheme in advance by
using it for teaching, scoring homework and providing
feedback. Remember that good assessment mirrors actual
classroom instruction.
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5- Teach good writing strategies by providing students with
enough space for an outline, a draft, and the finished
product.
6- In ESL/EFL classrooms, be aware of cultural differences
and sensitives. Avoid contentious issues that might offend
or disadvantage students.

2.3 Essay Tests

This is a traditional method for getting students to produce a
sample of connected writing. The stimulus is normally written
and can vary in length from a limited number of words to several
sentences. The topics are often very general and rely heavily on
the testee providing the content out of his or her head. The testees
are not usually guided in any way as to how they are expected to
answer the question.

Advantages
1- The essay has traditionally been accorded high prestige as a
testing technique which may explain a widespread
reluctance to discard it despite the problems in scoring that
have been encountered.
2- The topics are extremely easy to set and it is a familiar
testing technique to both the testees and the users of test
results. It thus has a superficial face validity in particular for
the lay person.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- It is a suitable vehicle for testing skills, such as the ability to
develop an extended argument in a logical manner, which
cannot be tested in other ways.
4- The big advantage it shares with other tests of extended
writing is that a sample of writing is produced which can
provide a tangible point of reference for comparison in the
future.

Disadvantages
1- Free, open-ended writing is problematic. An ability to write
on general open-ended topics may depend on the testee’s
background or cultural knowledge, imagination or
creativity. These may not be factors we wish to assess.
2- The testee may not have any interest in the topic he is given
and if a selection of topics is provided it is very difficult to
compare performances especially if the production of
different text type is involved .
3- Testees tend to approach an open ended question in
different ways and examiners have to assess the relative
merits of these different approaches. This increases the
difficulty of scoring the essays in a precise and reliable
manner.
4- Time pressure is often an unrealistic constraint for extended
writing and writing timed essays is not normally done
outside of academic life. For most people, the writing
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
process is lengthier and may involve several drafts before a
finished version is produced.
5- The inclusion of an extended writing component in an
examination is time consuming in terms of the total amount
of test time that is available for testing all the skills.
Task 1
Complete the table below in terms of the components of a
good writing test
Elements Definition

Task 2
Complete the following word picture:

Common Signpost Terms

Task 3
Compare and contrast between Holistic and Analytical
scoring scales by completing the following table:
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Holistic Analytical

Compare

Contrast

Task 4
Complete the following diagram related to Direct and
Indirect Testing of Writing Skill
Method

Task 5
Design sample questions on each of the following:
a- discrete levels of language testing
b- integrative approach of language testing you can use two or
more questions suggested in this section.

Task 6
Design your own holistic and analytic scoring scheme based
on the suggestions and recommendations in this section. Put
suitable scales and scores.
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Chapter Eight
Testing Speaking

As in daily life, speaking is an important channel of

communication in a general English program. When testing this
skill, we want to stimulate real-life situation in which students
engage in conversation, ask and answer questions, give
information, participating in class discussions and debates, giving
academic presentations, develop telephone skills, make reports,
and interact in common situations involving meetings, travel, and
sales. Whatever the teaching focus whether academic or business,
valid assessment should reflect the course objectives.
Speaking is an extremely difficult skill to test, as it is far too
complex a skill to permit any reliable analysis to be made for the
purpose of objective testing. Many teachers do not even attempt
to assess speaking for the following reasons:
1- resources requirements and reliability including the
perceived subjectivity in scoring.
2- lack of time, number of students, lack of available tests, and
administrative difficulties,
3- practicality issues for reliability of the scoring which often
arise as scorers must be trained, and this training can be
very time consuming.
However, the assessment of spoken language has evolved
dramatically over the last several decades from tests of oral
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grammar and pronunciation to tests of genuine communication,
and now to integrative speaking tasks on high-stakes tests like the
TOEFL.
Despite the difficulties associated with assessing the
speaking skill, there are important reasons that speaking should
receive as much attention in assessment as the other language
skills:
1- In communicative language teaching, speaking is a
prominent component of the language curriculum. If we
value communication skills, we must assess them or we
send a double message to our students about what we
consider to be important.
2- With English now as a global language, a large percentage
of the world’s language learners study English in order to
develop proficiency in speaking. In the interests of
promoting clear international communications, we need to
recognize the importance of spoken English by testing
students’ progress.
Speaking is a complex skill requiring the stimultaneous use of
different abilities that often develop at different rates-namely
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and
comprehension. These abilities still underlie the assessment of
speaking, but now more attention is paid to contextual and
interactional factors.
Canale and Swain (1980) believe that four competencies are
underlying in speaking ability:
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1- Grammatical competence: includes knowledge of grammar,
vocabulary, and mechanics (basic sounds of letters and
syllables, pronunciation of words, intonation and stress).
2- Discourse competence: concerned with relationships
beyond the sentence level, rules of cohesion and coherence,
holding communication together in a meaningful way.
3- Sociolinguistic competence: applying knowledge of what is
expected socially and culturally by users of the target
language.
4- Strategic competence: the way learners manipulate
language in order to meet communicative goals; the ability
to know when to take the floor, how to keep a conversation
going or end it, and how to resolve communication
breakdowns.
There are two major categories of oral skills suggested by Weir
(1993):
1- The routine skills that are part of a repertoire for exchanging
information or interacting. They are largely associated with
language functions and the spoken language required in
certain situations like ordering food in a restaurant or asking
for directions to a museum.
2- The improvisational skills such as negotiating meaning and
managing the interaction. They are more general and may be
brought into play at any time for clarification, to keep a
conversation flowing, to change topics, or to take turns.
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It is the teacher’s task to decide which speaking skills are most
germane to a particular program and then create a variety of
assessment tasks. It is also common to weight some skills more
heavily than others.
When assessing speaking, the teacher should keep in mind the
following points:
1- Choose tasks that generate positive washback for teaching
and learning. Select speaking assessment tasks that have
positive effect on the teaching and learning process. These
tasks should be as authentic as possible.
2- Allow time for a warm-up. A warm-up will probably
improve results. Speaking tests can be traumatic for second
language learners. Use a warm up activity to put students at
ease.
3- Keep skill contamination in mind. Don’t give students
lengthy written instructions that must be read and
understood before speaking.
4- Remember that large samples of language are more reliable.
Make sure that students speak long enough on a variety of
tasks. You must have enough material for an accurate
assessment.
5- Choose a range of appropriate techniques. Use more than
one activity during an oral exam, as this is more authentic.
Multiple measures within an exam give more reliable results
than a single activity.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
6- Ensure valid and reliable scoring by choosing an appropriate
scale whether holistic or analytical.
7- Train teachers in scoring, and practice together using the
scoring scale until there is a high rate of inter-rater
reliability.
8- Try to personalize the test by using the students’ names.
Address students by their name to personalize the test. If
you make personal comments, do not monopolize the exam
by talking too much.
9- Carry out speaking assessments and oral exams in a suitable
venue. Whichever type of assessment you are doing, you
will need a relatively quiet room with good acoustics. This
is especially important if you want to record the assessment.
10- Never score the test in front of the students. It is distracting
for students to see teachers scoring in front of them. The
best solution is to have two teachers administer the oral
assessment, one functioning as interlocutor and the other as
assessor in the background. If you administer a speaking test
alone, wait until students have left the room before you
record their scores. If you must take notes during the exam,
make sure you tell students before hand that you will be
doing this.
There are a number of factors need to be considered before
constructing a speaking test:
1- Whether to focus more on fluency or accuracy; on the one
hand, fluency is important for students, but if there are many
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
errors, that might impede comprehension. It is
recommended to focus equally on fluency and accuracy.
Ask yourself whether the mistakes students make impede
comprehension or cause a breakdown in communication.
2- One way to ensure that you place an equal focus on both
fluency and accuracy is to build this into your assessment
criteria, i.e. 50 percent of a student’s score would come
from aspects of fluency such as initiating and maintaining
communication, and 50 percent would be based on how
accurately the student spoke.
3- Teachers have to decide on which criteria to evaluate. If you
espouse an equal emphasis on fluency and accuracy, we
recommend the following scoring categories:
- accuracy (grammar)
- vocabulary
- linguistic ability (pronunciation, intonation, and stress)
- fluency (ability to express ideas)
- content or ideas
Put a suitable score or weight for each category with the
help of other colleagues.
4- Consider the procedure of scoring, by using a amultiple
raters because of the subjectivity problem in scoring
speaking tests. The more teachers you use, the more reliable
a test score will be. One teacher is the interlocutor who
interacts with the student(s) being tested, while the other
teacher is the assessor who focuses on writing scores and
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
making notes. At the end of the test and after the students
leave, the two raters either discuss their suggested scores
and negotiate an agreed-upon score or take an average of the
two scores.
5- The scoring process is greatly simplified if the assessor uses
a scoring sheet with the criteria for assessment and their
relative weights. A clear, easy-to-use scoring sheet reduces
note-taking and keeps the scoring criteria ever present.
6- Deciding what type of speaking samples to collect from
students, i.e. collecting speaking data with the following
characteristics:
- speech that has a purpose
- extended chuncks of speech
- speech that is structured or organized
- tasks where the amount of speech is controlled
- tasks where there is a specific number of points of required
information.
A proposed framework for speaking tests is used to see
students perform best when they are led through the following
stages:
1- Warm up: The purpose of this stage is to relax students and
lower their anxiety. Here, students are asked for personal
details such as general information about themselves, their
likes and dislikes, etc. Assessors can even ask students to spell
out something or give numerical sequences like telephone
number or codes, etc. This stage has a dual purpose of putting
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
the students at ease and getting basic information about them.
It usually takes a minute or two and is not assessed.
2- Level check: At this stage, the assessor tries to determine the
student’s level of speaking proficiency through a series of
questions or situational activities. This part of the exam is
assessed.
3- Probe: In this part of the speaking test, the examiner attempts
to push the student to the height of his or her speaking ability.
Another function can be as a confirmation of the level check.
This part of the exam is assessed if the student can go beyond
his/her abilities, but it is unscored if a communication
breakdown occurs.
4- Wind down: At this stage of the test, the examiner once again
attempts to relax the student with some easy questions, perhaps
about future plans, Typical content during this stage is
information about when and where to obtain exam results. This
part of the oral exam/interview is not scored.
What follows is a brief review of some of the more useful and
potentially valid formats for testing speaking ability and skills:

1- Verbal Essay
In this test, the testee is asked to speak (sometimes directly
into a tape recorder) for three minutes on either one or more
specified general topics. It requires testees to speak for
approximately three to five minutes on a specified prepared topic.
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Advantages
The testee has to speak at length which enables a wide range
of criteria including fluency to be applied to the output. More
discrete short questions or posited situations to which the student
has to respond often severely limit the range of criteria that are
applicable.

Disadvantages
1- The topic specified may not be of interest to the testee or
something related to real life situation.
2- The more open-ended the topic, the more successful
performance in it might be dependent on background or
cultural knowledge and draw upon factors such as
imagination or creativity. The greater the deviation of
responses from what is expected in terms of content, the
more difficult it might be to maintain reliability in
assessment.
3- The use of tape recorder for the conduct of this task might
be stressful to some testees.

2- Oral Presentation
It is designed to get testees talking about a familiar topic
themselves. It is a 4 to 6 minutes speech where the student
introduces himself/herself to the rest of the class. He is expected
to give a short talk on a topic which he has either been asked to
prepare beforehand or has been informed of shortly before the
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
test. This is different from the spoken essay in that the testee is
allowed to prepare for the task.

Advantages
1- It serves as a warm-up and gets the student in front of an
audience to talk about specified features of his personal life.
2- By integrating the activity with previously heard or
previously read texts, the oral task can be made to equate
realistically with real life tasks that the testee might have to
perform in the target situation.
Giving oral presentations is a real-life skill for students in
academic and business programs, so presentations are often used
for classroom speaking assessment. Oral presentations are not just
concerned with language accuracy and fluency. They also include
aspects of delivery such as body language, facial expression, eye
contact, and gestures. The visual aids and handouts that the
student creates and uses are integral parts of the presentation.
Power point or other presentation software is often used to
highlight the spoken delivery.

Disadvantages
1- If the testee knows the topic well in advance, there is a
danger that he can learn it by heart. If little time is given for
preparation then one faces the problem that what is being
tested may be knowledge rather than linguistic ability. If the
task is integrated with a prior reading passage to ensure that
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
all testees have a common set of information available to
them, one is faced with the problem of reading possibly
interfering with the measurement.
2- The multiplicity of interpretations of broad topics may
create problems in assessment.

3- The Free Interview

In this type of interview, the conversation unfolds in an
unstructured fashion and no set of procedures is laid down in
advance.

Advantages
1- Because of its face and content validity in particular, the
interview is a popular means of testing the oral skills of
testees.
2- Free interviews are like extended conversations and the
direction is allowed to unfold as the interview takes place.
The discourse might seem to approximate more closely to
the normal pattern of informal social interaction in real life
where no carefully formulated agenda is apparent.

Disadvantages
1- As there are no set procedures for eliciting language, the
performances are likely to vary from event to event not
least because different topics may be broached and
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
differences may occur in the way the interview is
conducted.
2- The procedure is time consuming and difficult to
administer if there are large numbers of testees.

4- The Controlled Interview

This type consider a controlled procedure of conducting the
interview by setting a set of questions that all testees should be
exposed to during the interview. These set of questions are
determined in advance for eliciting testees performance.

Advantages
1- There is a greater possibility of testees being asked the same
questions and thus it is easier to make comparisons across
performances.
2- It has a higher degree of content and face validity than most
other techniques.

Disadvantages
1- It can not cover the range of situations testees might find
themselves in.
2- Even when the procedures for eliciting performance are
specified in advance, there is still no guarantee that testees
will be asked the same questions in the same manner, even
by the same examiner.
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5- Information Transfer: Description of a Picture Sequence
It is also called Picture Cue which refers to visuals that can
be very useful in assessing speaking skills. Students are given a
picture or photo and must describe what they see. Pictures can be
as simple or as elaborate as you want or can illustrate a story.
Make sure you give students enough time to look at the picture
before you require them to start speaking. Good sources for
visuals are newspapers and magazine photographs or
advertisements, printed digital photographs, or pictures
downloaded from the Internet.
The testee sees a panel of pictures depicting a
chronologically ordered sequence of events and has to tell the
story in the past tense. Time is allowed at the beginning for the
testee to study the pictures.

Advantages
1- The task required of the testees is clear. It does not require
them to read or listen and thereby avoids the criticism of
contamination of measurement provided the pictures are not
culturally or educationally biased.
2- It can be an efficient procedure and one of the few available
to get the testee provide an extended sample of connected
speech which allows the application of a wide range of
criteria in assessment. It is also useful for eliciting the
testees’ ability to use particular grammatical forms such as
the past tense for reporting.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- Because all testees are constrained by common information
provided by pictures or drawings, it allows a comparison of
testees which is relatively untainted by background or
cultural knowledge given that the drawings themselves are
culture free.
4- The value of the technique is dependent on the pictures
being clear and unambiguous and free from cultural or
educational bias; therefore, it proved to be one of the most
effective formats in the experimental tests.

Disadvantages
1- The authenticity of this task is limited though it could be
said to represent the situation of having to describe
something which has happened, i.e. an information routine.
It tells us very little, however, about the testee’s ability to
interact orally.
2- If the quality of the pictures is in any way deficient, then the
testee may not have the opportunity of demonstrating his
best performance. Differences in interpretation might also
introduce unreliability into the scoring.

6- Information Transfer: Questions on a Single Picture

The examiner asks the examinee a number of questions
about the content of a picture which he has had time to study. The
questions may be extended to embrace the thoughts and attitudes
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of people in the picture and to discuss future developments arising
out of what is depicted.

Advantage
If could be used for testing different groups of students
where relevant pictorial material could be developed from one
task.

Disadvantages
1- The testee is cast in the sole role of respondent and is
denied the opportunity to ask questions. The criterion of
reciprocity, a normal feature of most spoken interaction, is
not usually met.
2- The pictures need to be clear and unequivocal. If a large
number of testees are to be examined over several days,
then the question of test security arises if the same pictures
are to be employed. If different pictures are to be used, the
issue of comparability must be faced.

7- Information Gap Activity

One student has information, the other lacks and vice versa.
Students have to exchange information to see how it fits together.
Students work together on a task on which they may have
different opinions. They have to reach a conclusion in a limited
period of time. Students work in pairs and each is given only part
of the information necessary for completion of the task. Testees
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
have to communicate to fill in an information gap in a meaningful
situation. Sometimes to examine testees separately, they can be
given a diagram, a set of notes, etc. from which information is
missing and their task is to request the missing information from
the examiner.

Advantages
1- The testees are free to choose their partners so that they are
interacting under normal time constraint with somebody
they know and feel happy communicating with.
2- As a normal feature of the interaction, they can use question
forms, elicit information, make requests, ask for
clarification and paraphrase in order to succeed in the task,
i.e., deploy improvisational as well as interactional skills.
3- The task is highly interactive to representing real
communication.
4- In student-examiner information gap activity, there is a
stronger chance that the interlocator will react in a similar
manner with all testees allowing a more equitable
comparison of their performance.

Disadvantages
1- There is a problem if one of the participants dominates the
interaction as the other testee may have a more limited
opportunity to demonstrate communicative potential.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
2- Similarly, if there is a large difference in proficiency
between the two, this may influence performance and the
judgments made on it.
3- There is also a problem if one of the testees is more
interested in the topic or the task as the interaction may
become one sided as a result.
4- Testees are being assessed on their performance in a single
situation and extrapolations need to be made about their
ability to perform in other situations from this.
5- There are also practical constraints such as the time
available, the difficulties of administration and the
maintenance of test security.
6- Interacting with an examiner is often a more daunting task
for the testee than interacting with his peers.

8- Role play
Students are given cue cards with information about their
“character” and the setting. If there is only one student, the
interlocutor roleplays with him or her. If there are two or more
students, be certain that the roles they are asked to play are
familiar to all and would elicit comparable amounts of speech.
Some students find it difficult to project themselves into an
imaginary situation, and this lack of acting ability may affect
reliability. Role plays should not be used on a test unless they
have been a normal part of class activities; a good test always
reflects actual class content and teaching.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Advantage
The technique can be valid in both face and content terms
for a wide variety of situations.

Disadvantages
1- A testee cannot think what to say in all oral interactions.
The question of role familiarity arises in this technique in
the sense that some testees may not know what it is normal
to do in certain situations.
2- Practical constraints operate here as well, especially in large
scale testing operations. If it is necessary to use different
role plays, then great care needs to be taken to ensure that
they are placing equal demands on testees.

9- Debate on a Controversial Topic

A debate is a formal public speaking activity where two
students or groups of students argue for or against a topic. The
topic they debate is called the motion. The student(s) who argues
for the motion usually starts the debate with a three-minute
speech. The student(s) on the opposing team then has a chance to
argue against or rebut the arguments made by the first student(s).
Group or team debates in which two teams of four students argue
for and against a certain motion are preferred. Three students on
each team deliver oral arguments. The remaining student serves
as a silent observer who helps formulate the arguments or rebuttal
statements.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

10- Reading aloud

Reading aloud is good for pronunciation practice and
assessment, and it can be done with unrelated sentences or
connected prose. Give students a chance to look at the passage
first.

11- Retelling Stories

Students are asked to report on the contents of a graded
reader or a magazine/newspaper article they have read.
Task 1
Complete the following word picture:

Communicative Competence

Task 2
Design your own scoring category in assessing Speaking
Skill based on the suggested one in this section. Put suitable
scales and scores.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 3
Compete the table below in terms of the stages of a propsed
framework for speaking tests.
Stages Definition

Task 4
Compare between Verbal and Written Essays

Verbal Essay Written Essay

Task 5
By using a same topic, design a free interview, then a
controlled interview. You can use a daily life topic.

Task 6
Design two tests: one describing picture sequence, the other
describing a single picture. You can use the same topic in both
types or different topics, as you like.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Task 7
Design a test on the following:
- retelling stories
- debate
- reading a loud
- role a play

Task 8
In pairs, use the suggested speaking Assessment Scale to
assess each other speaking on a suggested topic by your teacher.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Chapter Nine
Test-taking strategies

A test taker (i.e. testee, subject, examinee, candidate) is an

individual who takes a test. Test takers are the greatest source of
subjectivity in language testing. They must make an uncountable
number of subjective decisions, both consciously and
unconsciously, in the process of taking a test. Each test taker is
likely to approach the test and the tasks it requires from a slightly
different, subjective perspective, and to adopt slightly different,
subjective strategies for completing those tasks. These differences
among test takers complicate the tasks of designing tests and
interpreting test scores.

Test-taking strategies are strategies used by individuals in

taking a test. These strategies include among others:
- reading the instructions carefully,
- schedualing the allocated time appropriately,
- making use of clue words in the questions,
- delaying answering difficult questions,
- reviewing the work in order to check the answers.
There is evidence to suggest that there is a positive
relationship between test performance and skill in taking tests. In
spite of this positive relationship, instruction in test-taking is not
commonly included in school curriculum or instruction. The
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
cognition of those who are skilled in taking tests consist of the
following:

1- a cognitive monitor that controls which abilities and skills

are going to be engaged to answer the items under
investigation;
2- knowledge, abilities, and skills relevant to the content or
trait being measured;
3- knowledge of test-wiseness principles; and
4- the response (selection and record of choice)
Instruction in test-taking focuses on one or any of the
combination of the following components:
- use of time
- avoidance of error
- guessing
- deductive reasoning
- answering analogies
- answering MCQs
All the above components have been incorporated into a self-
instructional approach known as SCORER. The acronym refers to
the following:
1- S Schedule your time: Allocate appropriate time for each
question according to its difficulty and the test time limits.
2- C Clue Words: Look for clue words in the instructions for
each question, and then underline them.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
3- O Omit Difficult Questions: Identify difficult questions such
as questions that may require much thinking and longer
time, and either omit or delay answering them.
4- R Read Carefully: Read instructions for the whole test and
for each question carefully. This will enable you to know
what is required from you.
5- E Estimate Your Answer: Do not act hastily, and see if the
answer given is the one required by the instructions.
6- R Review Your Work: Review and check your answers in
order to make sure you answered each question in
accordance with the instructions.
Effective test-taking strategies are synonymous with
effective learning strategies. There are certain suggestions for
long-term successful learning techniques and test-taking
strategies, not quick tricks. There is nothing that can replace the
development of good study skills. The following suggestions are
recommended to help your students approach tests with
confidence:
1- Make a Semester (or monthly) study plan
Students need to plan their study time for each week of their
courses. They should make schedules for themselves and revise
them when necessary. These schedules should:
1- Be realistic
Keep a balance between classes and studying. Block out space
for study time, class time, family time, and recreation time.
2- Include a study place
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Finding a good place to study will help students get started;
don’t forget to have all the materials needed (i.e. pens, paper,
textbooks and reference books, highlighter pens, etc.)
3- Include a daily study time
Students forget things almost at once after learning them, so
they should immediately review materials learned in class.
Students should go over the main points from each class
and/or) textbooks for a few minutes each night. Encourage
students to do homework assignments during this time as a
good way to remember important points made in class.
4- Allow plenty of preparation time for important assessments
Teachers should provide students with as much advance notice
as possible about upcoming tests and due dates for assessments
such as projects and portfolios. Students can learn useful time
management skills in breaking down their preparation for these
major events into smaller steps such as submitting drafts,
reviewing certain textbook units, or taking practice tests.

2- Attend Class Regularly

For language learning to take place, students need to come
to class on a regular basis. It in not surprising that poor attendance
correlates highly with poor test results. Teachers need to point out
early in the semester what constitutes legitimate reasons to be
absent and stress the advantages of regular attendance. And stress
the advantages of regular attendance. It is also important that
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
students feel motivated to attend regularly and see that they are
making progress.

3- Use Good Review Techniques

If students make a semester study plan and follow it,
preparing for exams should really be a matter of reviewing
materials. Time spent in reviewing should be no more than 15
minutes for weekly quizzes, two to three hours for a midterm
exam, and five to eight hours for a final exam.
When reviewing for a test, students should do the following:
1- Plan review sections (review the course outline, notes, and
textbooks and list the major topics, and emphasize on the
important parts).
2- Take a practice exam (to have an idea of the tasks/activities
that will be encountered on the actual exam by testees)
3- Review with friends (to offer the advantage of sharing
information with others reviewing the same material by
small groups work). But a study group should not take the
place of individual studying.

4-Organize Pre-exam Hours Wisely

Students who have regularly reviewed course materials
throughout the semester don't have to cram at the last minute.
They can concentrate their efforts on their particular areas of
difficulty and conduct an overall review of the material to be
tested. Physical and mental fitness are important considerations
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
for good test-taking. These can be best achieved with adequate
rest and nutrition in the hours preceding the exam. A well-
rested, well-fed student who has prepared thoroughly is likely to
be calm and self-confident.

5- Become Familiar With Instructions and Formats

Students frequently fail to read directions and instructions,
or read them superficially to save time. Teachers can help their
students to be more successful on tests by familiarizing them with
the language of rubrics or instructions, particularly the cue words
or phrases commonly used to give directions for the tasks students
encounter. Alert students to special formatted words such as bold,
italic, or underlining because words treated this way are often
especially important. Students also need to understand exactly
how they are supposed to answer the questions. If they are
required to select an answer, make sure your instructions are clear
about how they are to select it either by circling the letter, or
writing down the letter; or they need to answer on a separate sheet
of paper called “answer sheet”; or to use a pen or pencil or scored
by machine.
Guessing answers is a technique used by testees when they
do not know the correct answer or option in an MCQs. The policy
on guessing answers varies on different exams. Students' scores
are based on the percentage of correct answers, so they should be
encouraged to guess if they don't know an answer and to not to
leave any question unanswered. If students learn to eliminate
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
unlikely options, their chances in success are much improved.
This works best with objective format items and short answer
formats. On some standardized tests, there is a penalty for
guessing. Familiarize yourself with the guessing policy on exams
your students take and give out accurate information about it.

6- Use Strategies Appropriate to the Skill Area

Teachers should train their students in effective strategies
for the various skill areas to be tested. Important activities like
note taking for listening and writing tasks should be demonstrated
to students during classroom activities.
Spend time to analyze the particular skills that your students
will encounter on the test, and then build strategies for these skills
as part of classroom instruction. For example, draw your students’
attention to markers such as but, so, although, etc. so as students
become aware of the shifts in meaning that these words signal;
alert your students to the words in reading instructions that
indicate what kind of reading they need to do in order to answer
the questions such as skimming or scanning or other types.

7- Strategize Your Exam Plan

An important factor in test-taking is planning for what will
happen on exam day and not leaving anything to chance. This
builds your students’ confidence and reduce anxiety. Therefore,
students feel better prepared if they have the mechanical aspects
of taking an exam well in hand. They should arrive early at the
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
exam room and find a seat. All books and other personal things
should be left at the front of the room. They should come
prepared with several pens or pencils, eraser, and other needed
stationary. As soon as the exam have been distributed, and
students have been told to start, they should write their names and
ID number on the exam paper.
When the exam starts ad students work with its different
sections and questions, they are well-advised to do an overview of
the questions, their values, and the tasks required.
An important factor in effective test-taking is time
management. Students should be encouraged to allocate their time
proportional to the value of each exam section and to allow time
to review their work. Teachers or proctors can assist students with
time management by alerting them to time remaining in the exam.

8- Learn from Each Exam Experience

Each test should be part of the overall learning experience.
Review test results with students, noting both strengths and
weaknesses. Give students a feedback sheet they can use for
remediation or improvement, if possible. Provide your students
with specific suggestions for further practice. If a student
experienced a problem as a direct result of a test-taking skill,
point that out so it doesn’t happen again.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
9- Build Learner Autonomy through Self-Assessment
Self-assessment plays a central role in student monitoring of
progress in a language program. It refers to the student's
evaluation of his/her own performance at various points in a
course. An advantage of self-awareness is that student awareness
of outcomes and progress is enhanced. Students will not always
have a teacher to guide them. As they progress through life, they
will usually have to rely on their own assessments of what they
know and don’t know. Teachers can promote learner autonomy
through self-assessment.
Self-assessment techniques include:
- Student progress cards,
- Rating scales, checklists, and Questionnaires,
- Learner Diaries and Dialogue Journals,
- Videotapes,
- Student-designed testes, and
- Learner-Centered Assessment.

Task 1
Complete the following word picture.

SCORER
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Task 2
Complete the table below in terms of SCORER

Letter Word Definition

Task 3
Do as required
1- Read the text related to “Test-Taking Strategies,”
2- Take notes of the major points and ideas,
3- Make an outline of an essay related to the topic,
4- Write down an essay of 250-300 words about “Test-Taking
strategies'
5- Use the notes taken to write a summary of 150 words about
“Test-Taking Strategies”.

Task 4
Search for other test-taking strategies in other reference
books or by using the internet.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Check Yourself

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

1) The widest basis for collecting data

and information in education is
evaluation.
2) Evaluation is concerned with
student, and what the student does.
3) The sample in the assessment of a
person’s language ability may
include tests, interviews,
questionnaires, observations, etc.
4) Testing has traditionally provided a
measure of growth.
5) Tests are always used for
pedagogical purposes.
6) Assessments are subsets of testing
7) Tests are the only useful devices to
assess students.
8) Language testing can be divided into
three major trends.
9) Structuralist Approach of testing
trends is also called Pre-scientific
trend.
10) The Psychometric-structurlist trend
is a discrete-point approach.
11) Integrative approach of testing is
concerned with meaning and the
total communicative effect of
discourse.
12) Aptitude tests measure capacity or
general ability to learn a foreign
language.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

13) Placement tests identify language

areas in which a student needs
further help.
14) Progress tests are not based on a
particular curriculum or language
program.
15) Achievement tests are similar to
proficiency tests.
16) An effective achievement test will
offer washback about the quality of
a learner’s performance in subtests
of the unit.
17) The teacher’s scoring plan reflects
the absolute weight that he places on
each section and items included.
18) Objective tests require scoring by
opinion or personal judgment.
19) Criterion-reference tests are usually
developed to measure mastery of
well-defined instructional objectives
of a course.
20) Summative tests are carried out
with the aim of using the results to
improve instruction.
21) Traditional assessment mainly
deals with tests and testing.
22) Portfolio is one type of alternative
assessment.
23) Validity of the test comes before
reliability.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

24)Construct validity is viewed from a

purely statistical perspective.
25) The best way to ensure validity of a
test is to produce tests of
specifications.
26) Feedback refers to the effect of
testing on teaching and learning.
27) Practicality refers to the
availability of clear, accurate
information to students about
testing.
28) Security is part of both reliability
and validity for all tests.
29) Communicative test design
includes four stages namely: design,
development, operation, and
monitoring.
30) Scoring objective items requires no
expert judgment.
31) Reading is a complex skill which
includes both bottom-up and top-
down skills.
32) For classroom assessment, teachers
divide reading into major and minor
skills.
33) Grammar and vocabulary are
contextualized as part of reading
passages instead of being assessed
separately.
34) MCQs avoid to deploy the skill of
writing.
35) Constructing MCQs is time
consuming.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

36) Completion items require the

student to choose a specific answer
among other options.
37) In cloze tests, the deletion of words
is mechanically set.
38) Cloze tests seem to produce more
successful tests of syntax and lexis
at sentence level.
39) Linguistic reasoning is used to
decide on deletions.
40) C-tests are alternative to cloze and
selective deletion gap filling.
41) Cloze elide test is also known as
the intrusive word technique.
42) Information transfer test is
particularly suitable for testing
understanding of process.
43) T/F questions are second only to
MCQs in frequency of use in
testing.
44) It is recommended to use T/F/Not
given in testing rather that T/F
alone.
45) Successful T/F/Not given items
completion by students depends on
their reading of the text not on their
background knowledge.
46) In T/F/Not given and MCQs, we
should avoid answer patterns.
47) Matching is an extended form of
T/F.
48) Valid and reliable testing of
listening comprehension is a
complex process.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

49) In testing listening comprehension,

there is a need to provide sufficient
contextualization prior to listening.
50) The biggest challenges for teaching
and assessing listening
comprehension concern the
production of listening materials.
51) There is a differentiation between
tests of auditory discrimination and
contextualized tests of listening
comprehension.
52) Paraphrase recognitions require
testees to listen to a statement, then
select the option closest in meaning
to the statement.
53) To do dictation with your students,
you need to find a text of more than
100 words.
54) In doing dictation, the text is read
three times.
55) Note-taking is an authentic task in
academic programs.
56) Direct measures of writing
assessment requires the students to
produce the context.
57) Direct writing assessment
integrates all elements of writing.
58) A prompt is the stimulus the
student must respond to, or the task
itself.
59) Post-task evaluation is concerned
with assessing the effectiveness of
your writing tasks/tests.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

60) In recent years, there is a shift from

writing as a product into writing as a
process.
61) We should have a systematic
approach for dealing with scoring
discrepancies.
62) Analytic scoring scale is based on
the scorer’s total impression of the
writing as a whole.
63) Holistic scoring provides the
teacher with a profile of their
students’ strengths and weaknesses
in writing.
64) In direct testing of writing, there
are two major techniques: Free
writing, and controlled or guided
writing.
65) It is better to use analytical and
holistic scoring schemes in scoring
writing.
66) A traditional method for getting
students produce a sample of
connected writing is essay tests.
67) Free, open-ended writing is
problematic.
68) Speaking is an extremely difficult
skill to test an lacks reliability.
69) Many teachers do not attempt to
use speaking tests because of
practicality factor.
70) Four competences are involved in
communication namely, linguistic or
grammatical; discourse,
sociolinguistic or pragmatic, and
strategic.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

71) There are two major categories of

oral skills: the routine skills, and the
improvisational skills.
72) The teacher should decide which
oral skill to teach, and what
assessment tasks to use according to
his objectives.
73) Never to score the test in front of
the students.
74) Oral tests include the following
stages: warm-up, level check, probe,
and wind-down.
75) In debates, students are asked to
speak for three minutes on a general
or specified topics.
76) A verbal essay is designed to get
testees talking about a familiar topic.
77) In oral presentation, the student is
allowed to prepare for the task.
78) Oral presentations include aspects
of delivery as well as accuracy and
fluency.
79) Free interviews are unstructured.
80) In controlled interviews, all testees
should be exposed to a set of
questions.
81) Picture cue refers to visuals that
can be very useful in assessing
speaking skills.
82) Good sources for visuals are
newspapers, internet, magazines, etc.
83) Single picture or sequenced
pictures are visual tests used in
writing.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

84) In information gap activity, one

student has information, the other
lacks and vice versa.
85) Information gap activities are
highly interactive representing real
communication.
86) In role play, testees are given cue
cards with information about their
character and the setting.
87) Silent reading is good for
pronunciation practice and
assessment.
88) In reading aloud, students are
asked to report on the contents of a
graded reader of a magazine/
newspaper article they have read.
89) Test-takers are candidates.
90) Test-taking strategies are used in
learning.
91) SCORER acronym refers to:
schedule your time, clue words,
omit difficult questions, read
carefully, estimate your answer, and
review your work.
92) Effective test-taking strategies are
synonymous with effective learning
strategies.
93) Time spent in reviewing should be
no more than 2-3 hours for a
midterm exam.
94) A studying group should not take
the place of individual studying.
95) Physical and mental fitness are
important considerations for good
test-taking.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
disagree
I don’ t
Agree
Agree

know
Items

96) Guessing answers is a technique

used by testees when they do not
know the correct answer in a T/F
and MCQs.
97) An important factor in test-taking
is planning for what will happen on
exam day and not leaving anything
to chance.
98) On some standardized tests, there
is a penalty for guessing.
99) Self-assessment plays a central role
in student monitoring of progress in
a language program.
100) An advantage of self-awareness is
that student awareness of outcomes
and progress is enhanced.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
Appendicies
I- Sample Specifications
Sample Reading Specifications
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 49-50)
Total Marks: 50
Time: 30 MINUTES
Part 1
Text Type TEXT A
Description or narrative text, authentic or modified
Advanced Text length: 500 words
Level Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 10-11
English for
Academic
Purposes
(EAP)
Topic Based on topics covered in course materials (so students
have background knowledge and familiarity with
vocabulary)
Skills Gist comprehension, main ideas, supporting details,
reference, vocabulary in context, text coherence
Task 5 Multiple Choice items with 4 options each, one of
which is the key; questions within this section will
appear in order of the text with the exception of the
placement item. Ensure that there are two distractors in
the text for each item.
Skill focus The items should be written as follows:
of a. Item requires finding factual information in the
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
individual text at the sentence level.
items b. Items asks students to identify across-sentence
boundaries, the referent of a subject, object or
possessive pronoun (highlighted or paragraph
given).
c. Item about the meaning of an unknown word in
context (word highlighted or line given).
d. Item requires identification of a main idea at
either the paragraph or whole text level (title,
topic for paragraph, etc.).
e. Item requires choice of appropriate sentence for
placement at a symbol. Distractor sentences
should sample the entire text, and the question
should appear at end of section.
Marking 5 marks per item, no partial scores, students circle letter
of answer.

Part 2
Text type Use TEXT A (see Part 1)
Level See Part 1
Topic See Part 1
Skills Reading comprehension requiring higher-order
thinking skills than required in Part 1. Items should
require that students:
a. process information beyond the sentence level
b. understand paraphrased wording
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
c. understand the difference between accurate
and inaccurate information and information no
provided by the text itself
d. recognize the purpose, bias or intended
audience of the author
Task 5 True/False/Not Given items where students circle
answer. Wording of the statements must be positive.
Skill Focus The five T/F/NG Items must test the following
of ablities:
Individual a. connect information in different parts of a
Items paragraph
b. connect information in different parts of the
text
c. identify paraphrased ideas from the text
d. recognize what information is actually given
in the text and differentiate it from
background knowledge
e. identify the attitude, opinion, or purpose of
the writer
Note: There must be at least one T, F, and NG as the
correct responses, but only one NG item per section.
Marking 5 marks per item, no partial scores, students circle
letter of answers
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
II- Sample MCQ Test and T/F/NG

Part 1: Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. Where did diamonds develop?
A. billions of years ago
B. along rivers and beaches
C. deep in the Earth’s mantle
D. from pressure and high temperatures
2. In the fourth paragraph, what does they refer to ?
A. historical records
B. diamonds
C. Indian people
D. The gods
3. An engraver uses diamonds___________.
A. as a tool to make designs
B. by creating crowns for kings
C. to be strong in battles
D. for religious ceremonies
4. The main idea of the sixth paragraph is ______.
a. Canada and Siberia are cold places
b. Diamond production and processing
c. The use of diamonds in industry
d. 50 percent of diamonds come from Africa
5. Which sentence fits best at the mark in the third
paragraph?
A. You can see these crowns at the Tower of London.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
B. Diamonds are mostly colorless, but some have
colors.
C. These stolen stones are often called conflict
diamonds.
D. The blasts were caused by hot magma hitting water.

Part 2: Decide if the statement is True (T), False (F), or Not

Given (NG), and circle your answer.

6. T F NG
The most important quality of diamond
jewelry is its extreme hardness.
7. T F NG
Industry uses carbon to make valuable diamonds.
8. T F NG
Water causes diamonds to move form volcanic tubes to the ocean.
9. T F NG
About 80 percent of American women wear diamond
engagement rings.
10. T F NG
The author thinks that people buy diamond jewelry because of
advertising.
III- Example of Short Answer Scanning Task
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007:59)
Scan the following chart on the World’s longest Rivers and
answer each question with three words or less.
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1. Which river is longer than 4,000 miles? ______________
2. How many of the longest rivers are in Asia? _______________
3. How many rivers start in mountainous areas? ______________
4. Which river is really two rivers together? _________________
5. Which rivers are not important for shipping? ______________
6. Did the information come from the Internet or a book?_______
7. Which rivers flow north? _____________________________
8. Which river has the most water in it? ___________________

The World’s Longest Rivers

Name Continent Starts in Ends in Direction Length Navigation
of Flow in
Miles
Nile Africa Lake Mediterranean North 4,180
Victoria Sea
Amazon* South- Andes Atlantic Ocean East 3,912
America Mountains
Mississippi North Rocky Atlantic Ocean South 3,710
(including America Mountains
Missouri
River)
Yangtze Asia Tibet Pacific Ocean East 3,602
Plateau
Ob Asia Altai Arctic Ocean North 3,459
Mountains
= greatest amount of water flow
= important for shipping
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
VI- Sample Writing Test Specification
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 72)
Topic Related to the theme of travel
Text Type Compare/contrast
Length 250 words
Areas to be assessed Content, organization, vocabulary,
language use, mechanics
Timing 30 minutes
Weighting 10 percent of midterm exam grade
Pass level Similar to IELTSTM band 5.5

V- Writing Descriptors (adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 82-83)

6 • Overall meaning of complex communication adequately
conveyed.
• Main and subsidiary points are clear and well organized,
but may contain minor irrelevancies or inappropriacies.
• A range of cohesive devices used, though not always
accurately.
• Generally accurate use of sentences structure, though range
of complex sentences is limited.
• Vocabulary choice generally adequate, but may be
inadequate to express a wide range of ideas with precision.
• Most of the time, appropriate choice of words, idioms and
register gives the text a feeling of fluency.
• Occasional errors in spelling may still occur.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
• Uses capital letters, periods, commas, apostrophes,
parentheses, and bullets, with only occasional unobtrusive
errors.
5 • Overall meaning of simple and more complex
communication adequately conveyed, though clarity will
vary.
• Organization of text contributes to overall clarity.
• Range of cohesive devices is attempted.
• Simple sentences are generally correct; some complex
sentences may be used, but not often accurately.
• Errors in subject-verb agreement may still occur.
• Vocabulary generally appropriate.
• Appropriate choice of words, idioms and register
occasionally gives glimpses of fluency.
• Spelling errors still intrude but do not impair meaning.
• Uses capital letters, periods, commas, and apostrophes
appropriately, with only occasional errors.
4 • Meaning clear in straightforward communications; where
content is more complex, meaning comes through only
intermittently.
• Simple cohesive devices used appropriately.
• Can construct simple sentences but errors in subject-verb
agreement and word order are frequent.
• Appropriate choice of basic tenses.
• Range of vocabulary becomes wider, but may be
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
inappropriate.
• Text is stilled.
• Spelling errors intrude though words are mainly
recognizable with effort.
• Uses capital letters and periods almost without error;
commas and apostrophes missing or misused.
3 • Meaning only clear in short, simple communications;
becomes unclear if content becomes more complex.
• Little or no evidence of cohesive devices.
• Attempts simple sentences with some awareness of, but
limited control of, basic sentences structure and word
order.
• Vocabulary limited to simplest personal or work-related
topics.
• Spelling of familiar words is generally accurate, but
unfamiliar words may be unrecognizable.
• Uses capital letters and periods most of the time.
2 • Can convey only the simplest ideas.
• Begins to produce a few short sentences and phrases
independently, but with little or no control of sentence
structure.
• Vocabulary limited to common words.
• Can spell a few common words accurately.
• Some evidence of punctuation, but usually inaccurate.
• Can copy sentences accurately.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
• Can write legibly.
1 • Can convey information by positioning words correctly
(e.g., name title.).
• Essentially unable to make sentences or multi-word
messages.
• Can write words from memory in a limited range (e.g.,
name, address, job).
• Can form letters accurately and independently, but
confuses upper and lower case except when copying.
• Can copy words accurately but cannot spell words not
given.
• Text is so short that only evidence of letter formation or
word copying can be assessed.
0 Any of the following
• No sample available.
• Whole text appears to be copied or memorized and bears
no relation to the topic.
• Illegible.
IV- Sample Marking Codes for Writing
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 85)
SP Spelling
Vt Verb tense
ww Wrong word
wv Wrong verb
☺ Nice idea/content!
₪ Switch placement
¶ New paragraph
? I don’t understand
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
IIV- English listening Test
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 109)
Name: _____________________ Teacher: ______________
I.D. Number: ________________ Date: ________________

New Tuskland
Listen to the talk about New Tuskland and the fill in the
correct information. Use the map on the back of the test paper to
help you (5 points).

Country
Location
Size 1.
2.
Geographical Features
Weather
Wild animals •
•
Most important resource
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
IIV- Grading Chart for Individual Class Presentation
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 123)
Student’s name: _____________________ Date: _______________
Topic: _________________________________________________

Well done Done poorly

1. Content (Relevant, Shows Research) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
2. Task Fulfillment 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
3. Delivery 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Pronunciation 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. Communicative Performance 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Use of Visual Aids 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
7. Organization 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
8. Fielding Questions 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Language (Grammar and
9. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Vocabulary)
10 Time Management 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Total score = ________________ / 100

Comments for feedback:

Teacher’s Signature: ____________________________________

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Testing and Assessment in English Language
IIIV-Grading Chart for Three-Student Debate
(adopted from Coombe etal., 2007: 124-125)
The motion: ________________________

Speaker Speaker Speaker

1 Names: 2 Names: 3 Names:
Content Mark ________ ________ ________
The speaker developed strong, 10/9
well-supported arguments and
successfully rebutted
opponent’s argument(s), if
applicable.
The speaker developed well- 8/7
supported arguments and quite
successfully rebutted
opponent’s argument(s), if
applicable.
The speaker developed 6/5
satisfactory arguments,
competently supported, and
rebutted a number of the
opponent's argument(s), if
applicable.
The speaker developed weak, 4/3
poorly supported arguments
and tried generally
unsuccessfully to rebut
opponent’s argument(s), if
applicable.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
The speaker developed largely 2/1
irrelevant arguments and \
rebutted none of the opponent’s
argument(s), if applicable.

Organization Mark Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3

This speech was very well 5
organized, clearly signposted,
and a pleasure to listen to.
The speech was well 4
organized, well signposted,
and easy to listen to.
The speech was organized, 3
signposted, and rather easy to
listen to.
The speech was poorly 2
organized
The speech was very poorly 1
organized, not
Presentation and Language
Mark Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3
Skills
Information was confidently 5
presented using correct
grammar and a wide range of
appropriate vocabulary in a
way that clearly resonated
with the audience.
Information was well 4
presented, using almost error-
 156
Testing and Assessment in English Language
free grammar and a very good
range of appropriate
vocabulary in a way that
resonated with the audience.
Information was satisfactorily 3
presented using mainly correct
grammar and an adequate
range of appropriate
vocabulary in a way that
mainly resonated with the
audience.
Information was fairly 2
satisfactorily presented using
correct grammar and a narrow
range of appropriate
vocabulary in a way that did
not resonate much with the
audience.
Information was presented 1
using somewhat correct
grammar and a less than
adequate range of appropriate
vocabulary in a way that
clearly did not resonate with
the audience.
Speaker 1-/20x5= -% speaker 2-/20x5=-% speaker 3-/20x5= -
%
GROUP RESULT= percentages for speaker /+2+3 divided by
3= ----- %
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
X- Speaking Assessment: General Rubric (adopted from
Coombe etal., 2007: 127)
Speaking Assessment Name: ______________________
Date: _______________________
Your
Category Guide
Score
Grammar 25 24-25 Excellent. Few errors; communication of ideas is
points clear.
22-23 Very good. One or two errors, but
communication is mostly clear.
20-21 Good. Several errors in syntax, but main ideas
are mostly clear.
18-19 Fair. Noticeable errors that occasionally confuse
meaning.
12-17 Weak. Language is marked by errors. Listeners’
attention is diverted to the errors rather than the
message. Meaning is often unclear or broken.
0-11 Unacceptable. Communication is impeded. Too
many errors in this task for a student at this level.
Vocabulary 20 20 Excellent. Correct selection of words and idioms.
points Variety of vocabulary.
18-19 Very good. Correct selection of words and
idioms. Variety of vocabulary.
16-17 Good. Mostly correct choice of vocabulary.
Meaning is clear.
14-15 Fair. Noticeable vocabulary errors that
occasionally confuse meaning. Reliance on simple
vocabulary to communicate.
12-13 Weak. Many vocabulary errors. Listeners’
attention is diverted to the errors rather than the
message. Meaning is often unclear or broken.
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Testing and Assessment in English Language
0-11 Unacceptable. Too many errors in this task for a
student at this level. Communication is impede.
Fluency 30 29-30 Excellent. No hesitations at all.
points 27-28 Very good. Hesitations in one or two places but
immediately continued.
24-26 Good. Occasional hesitations but recovered well.
21-23 Fair. Noticeable gaps that catch listeners’
attention usually followed by recovery.
12-20 Weak. Several short periods of silence. Several
gaps that disrupt the flow of information. Listeners’
attention is diverted to the gaps rather than the
message.
0-11 Unacceptable. Periods of silence. Gaps without
good recovery.
Pronunciation 24-25 Excellent. Few errors; native-like pronunciation.
25 points 22-23 Very good. One or two errors, but
communication is mostly clear.
20-21 Good. Several pronunciation errors, but main
ideas are understood without problem.
18-19 Fair. Noticeable pronunciation errors that
occasionally confuse meaning.
12-17 Weak. Language is marked by pronunciation
errors. Listeners’ attention is diverted to the errors
rather than the message. Meaning is often unclear.
0-11 Unacceptable. Too many errors in this task for a
student at this level. Communication is impeded.
Your score: _______
Comments:
 Bibliography

Bachman, L. (1990) Fundamental Considerations in Language

Testing. Oxford: OUP.
Bachman, L. and A. Palmer (1996) Language Testing in
Practice. Oxford: OUP.
Brown, H.D. (1994) Principles of Language Learning and
Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Brown, H.D. (2004) Language Assessment: Principles and
Classroom Practices. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Canale, M. and M. Swain (1980) Theoretical Bases of
Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and
testing. Applied Linguistics, 1, 1-47.
Coombe, Christine, Keith Folse, and Nancy Hubley (2007) A
Practical Guide To Assessing English Language Learners, Ann
Arbor: USA. The University of Michigan Press,
Davies, A., A. Brown, C. Elder, K. Hill, T. Lumley, and T.
McNamara (1999) Dictionary of language testing. Cambridge:
CUP.
Harris, D. (1977) Testing English as a Second Language. New
York: McGraw. Hill.
Harrison, A. (1983) A Language Testing Handbook. NY:
MacMillan.
Heaton, J.B. (1990) Classroom Testing. Harlow, UK: Longman.
Heaton, J.B. (1995). Writing English Language Tests. NY:
Longman.
Henning, G. (1987). A Guide to Language Testing:
Development, Evaluation, Research. Boston: Newbury House.
Oller, J. (1979) Language Tests at School. A Pragmatic
Approach. London: Longman
O’Malley, J. and L. Valdez Pierce (1996) Authentic Assessment
for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for
Teachers. Reading, M.A: Addison-Wesley.
Weir, Cyril J. (1993) Understanding and developing language
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Weir, Cyril J. (1990) Communicative Language Testing, NY:
Prentice Hall.
 Table of Contents
Page
Preface……………………………………………………...1
1-Chapter One………………………………………………….3
Evaluation, Assessment and Testing ……………………….3
1. Evaluation ……………………………….……………….3
2. Assessment ………………………………………………4
3. Testing …………………………………………………...4
3.1 Tests …………………………………………….………5
3.2 Trends and Approaches to Language Testing …….……6
2- Chapter Two……………………………………………..…13
Types of Tests ………………………………………….…13
2.2 Additional ways of labeling Tests and other Assessment
Tools………………………………………………………..20
3- Chapter Three………………………………………………26
Characteristics of a Good Language Test ………….……..26
4- Chapter Four…………………………………………….….34
Communicative Test Construction ……………………….….34
1. Test Design …………………………………………34
2. Test Development ……………………………….…36
3. Test Operation …………………………………..…38
4. Test Monitoring ……………………………………38
Techniques for Communicative Language Testing …….…..39
5- Chapter Five……………………………………………….41
Testing Reading Comprehension ……………….…...41
 6- Chapter Six…………………………………………...……71
Testing Listening Comprehension ………………….71
7- Chapter Seven…………………………………………….85
Testing Writing ……………………………….….…85
8- Chapter Eight………………………………………….…102
Testing Speaking ………………………………..…102
9- Chapter Nine ………………………………………..…...123
Test-Taking Strategies …………………………………....123
Bibliography ……………………………………………..
Appendicies ……………………………………………...

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