BASIC PRINCIPLES OF

ASSESSMENT
(CHARACTERISTICS OF A
TEST)
By: PISMP BI 1 Jan 2012
Aderlin Chung
Bernadette M. J
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
TEST
Should be applied to assessments of all kinds in
general.
Questions to ponder:
Can it be given within appropriate administrative
constraints?
Is it dependable?
Does it accurately measure what you want it to measure?
Is the language in the test representative of real-world
language use?
Does the test provide information that is useful for the
learner?
PRACTICALITY
Refers to the logistical, down-to-earth,
administrative issues involved in making,
giving, and scoring an assessment
instrument.
These include costs, the amount of time it
takes to construct and to administer, ease of
scoring, and ease of interpreting/reporting the
results (Mousavi, 2009).
PRACTICALITY
A PRACTICAL TEST
stays within budgetary limits.
can be completed by the test-taker within
appropriate time constraints.
has clear directions for administration.
appropriately utilises available human resources.
does not exceed available material resources.
considers the time and effort involved for both
design and scoring.

Example of Practicality
Checklist
Are administrative details clearly established before
the test?
Can students complete the test reasonably within
the set time frame?
Is the cost of the test within budget limits?

OBJECTIVITY
Refers to the ability of teachers who mark the
answer scripts.
Most standardized tests of aptitude and
achievement are high in objectivity.
The test is said to have high objectivity when
the examiner is able to give the same score to
the similar answers guided by the marking
scheme.
OBJECTIVITY
Objective test highest level of objectivity -
not influenced by the scorers judgement / opinion.
Subjective test lowest objectivity different
examiners tend to award different scores.
Highly objective procedure are used the
reliability of the test results is not affected by the
scoring procedures.
For classroom assessments constructed by
teachers or performance-based assessments,
objectivity plays an important role in obtaining
reliable measures of achievement.

OBJECTIVITY
Therefore, to ensure high objectivity:
Select the most appropriate assessment
procedures for the learning goals being assessed.
Make the assessment procedure as objective as
possible e.g. carefully phrasing the questions
and providing a standard set of rules for scoring.

WASHBACK EFFECT
The effect of testing on teaching and learning
e.g. the extent to which assessment affects a
students future language development.
Messick (1996) reminded us that the
washback effect may refer to both the
promotion and the inhibition of learning
(beneficial versus harmful/negative)
washback.
WASHBACK EFFECT
Alderson & Wall (1993) a Washback
Hypothesis how tests influence both
teaching and learning.
A TEST THAT PROVIDES BENEFICIAL
WASHBACK
positively influences what and how teachers
teach.
positively influences what and how learners
learn.
offers learners a chance to adequately prepare.
WASHBACK EFFECT
gives learners feedback that enhances their
language development.
is more formative in nature than summative.
provides conditions for peak performance by the
learner.
WASHBACK EFFECT
In large-scale assessment, washback refers to the
effects that tests have on instruction in terms of
how students prepare for the test e.g., cram
courses and teaching to the test.
The current worldwide use of standardised tests
for gate-keeping purposes can lead students to
focus on gaining an acceptable score rather than
on language development.
Positively, many enrollees in test-preparation
courses report increased competence in certain
language-related tasks (Chapelle, Enright, &
Jamieson, 2008).
WASHBACK EFFECT
In classroom-based assessment, washback
can have a number of positive manifestations,
ranging from the benefit of preparing and
reviewing for a test to the learning that accrues
from feedback on ones performance.
Teachers can provide information to students
on useful diagnoses of strengths and
weaknesses.

WASHBACK EFFECT
Washback also includes the effects of an
assessment on teaching and learning prior to the
assessment itself, i.e., on preparation for the
assessment.
The challenge to teachers is to create classroom
tests that serve as learning devices through which
washback is achieved.
Washback enhances a number of basic principles
of language acquisition: intrinsic motivation,
autonomy, self-confidence, language ego,
interlanguage, and strategic investment.

WASHBACK EFFECT
Ways to enhance washback:
To comment generously and specifically on test
performance.
Through a specification of the numerical scores on
the various subsections of the test.
Formative versus summative tests:
Formative tests provide washback in the form of
information to the learner on progress towards goals.
Summative tests provide washback for learners to
initiate further pursuits, more learning, more goals, and
more challenges to face.

WASHBACK EFFECT
To imply that students have ready access to you
to discuss the feedback and evaluation you have
given.

AUTHENTICITY
The degree of correspondence of the
characteristics of a given language test
task to the features of a target language
task (Bachman & Palmer, 1996).
Lewkowicz (2000) discussed the difficulties of
operationalising authenticity in language
assessment:
Who can certify whether a task or language
sample is real-world or not?

AUTHENTICITY
Such judgements are subjective, and yet
authenticity is a concept that language-testing
experts have paid a great deal of attention to
(Bachman & palmer, 1996; Fulcher &
Davidson, 2007).
Chun (2006) asserts that many test types fail to
simulate real-world tasks.


AUTHENTICITY
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AUTHENTIC
TEST
contains language that is as natural as possible.
has items that are contextualised rather than
isolated.
includes meaningful, relevant, interesting
topics.
provides some thematic organisation to items,
such as through a story line or episode.
offers tasks that replicate real-world tasks.


AUTHENTICITY
The authenticity of test tasks in recent years
has increased noticeably.
Many large-scale tests nowadays offer
simulation of real-world tasks in speaking and
writing components, of which the performance
of these productive skills were not included
previously.
Reading passages are selected from real-world
sources that test-takers are likely to have
encountered or will encounter.


INTERPRETABILITY
Requires knowledge about the test by studying
its manual and other materials along with
current research.

INTERPRETABILITY
To interpret any test, one should consider its:
Reliability
Important because it is prerequisite to validity
Validity
Intended use of the test
Scores, norms and related technical
features
Example: pass or fail, standard score (10/10)


Administration and scoring variation
Stated criteria for score interpretation assume
standard procedures for administering and
scoring the test.