Mudrenko A.A.
Testing Students
As
far as we know, tests are given in order to measure students’ performance.
These measurements of performance will indicate how each student’s mental
capacity is developing. We give tests to monitor each student’s progress. This
information can be very useful for both teachers (if they interpret and act on
this information) and students (if they are helped for interpreting the
information and given guidance for future action).
When students are prepared
for a public exam or school test it is the teacher’s responsibility not only to
help them get their English to the level required, but also familiarize them
with the kinds of exam items they are likely to encounter, and give them
training in how to succeed. Students can be prepared for tests and exams in a
variety of ways. While training for the test, students should be shown the
various test types and asked what the item is testing so that they are clear about
what is required. Our task is to help them understand what the test or exam
designer is aiming for; by showing them the kind of making scales that are
used, we can make them aware of what constitutes success. The teacher’s task is
to give them training which can help them approach such items more effectively.
After completing a test item we can tell them what score they might be given
and why. It’s a good idea to equip students with appropriate negotiating
language so that they get over some awkward moments in such tasks.
When training students to
handle reading test items we should discuss with them the best way to approach
a first reading of the text, and how that can be modified on second reading to
allow them to answer the question provided.
If the test or exam is likely to contain multiple choice
questions, we can help students to appreciate the advantages of finding the
obvious distractor first. They can then work out what similarities and differences
the other distractors have so that they can identify the area of meaning or
grammar that is being targeted.
There are four main reasons
for testing which give rise to four categories of test:
Proficiency tests: proficiency tests give a general picture of a
student’s knowledge and ability. They are frequently used as stages people have
to reach if they want to be admitted to a foreign university, get a job, or
obtain some kind of certificate.
Proficiency tests have a
profound backwash effect since, where they are external exams, students
obviously want to pass them, and teachers’ reputations sometimes depend on how
many of them succeed.
Placement test: placing new students in a right class is
facilitated with the use of placement tests. Usually based on syllabuses and
materials the students will follow and use once their level has been decided
on, these test grammar and vocabulary knowledge and assess students’ productive
and receptive skills.
Diagnostic tests: while placements
tests are designed to show how good a student’s English is in relation to a
previously agreed system of levels, diagnostic tests can be used to expose
learner difficulties, gaps in their knowledge, and skill deficiencies during a
course. Thus, when we know what the problems are, we can do something about
them.
Progress and achievement tests: these tests are designed to measure
learners’ language and skill progress in relation to the syllabus they have
been following.
Achievement tests only work if
they contain item types which the students are familiar with. This does not
mean that in reading test, for example, we give them texts they have seen
before, but it does mean providing them with similar texts and familiar task
types. If students are faced with completely new material, the test will not
measure the learning that has been taking place, even though it can still
measure general language proficiency.
Achievement tests at the end
of a term (like progress tests at the end of a unit, a fortnight, etc.) should
reflect progress, not failure. They should reinforce the learning that has
taken place, not go out of their way to expose weaknesses. They can also help
us to decide on changes to future teaching programmes where students do
significantly worse in the test than we might have expected.
Achievement tests provide a
‘punctuation point’ in the academic year and can help students by providing a
focus for review and consolidation of their learning. However, this benefit is
only possible if students know, in advance, the content and style of the test.
‘Blind’ testing, in which students do not know what the test paper will ask,
does not provide a focus for review and consolidation.
We do not expect students to
learn everything which we teach. We all know about the differences between
input and intake. The purpose of a progress test is to check that most of the
students in a class are making reasonable progress through the learning
syllabus.
In progress tests, the results, for most students, should be between 80% and 95%. We should expect that the most students in the class will be making reasonable progress. So, a progress test should be reasonably easy. It should be designed to make students feel good about their progress and achievement. A progress test should be a focus for review and consolidation but it should also have a strong motivational purpose.
In order to judge the
effectiveness of any test it is sensible to lay down criteria against which the
test can be measured, as follows: validity and reliability. A test is valid if it tests what is supposed
to test. Reliability: a good test should give consistent results. ‘Reliability’
is enhanced by making the test instructions absolutely clear, restricting the
scope for variety in the answers, and making sure that test conditions remain
constant.