Comparison - Discrete point / Integrative / Pragmatic Tests

John Carroll (1961) first proposed the distinction between discrete point and integrative language tests.

Discrete tests take language skills apart and attempt to test the knowledge of language one bit at a time.  Integrative
tests put the skills back together and attempt to assess learner’s capacity to use many bits all at the same time and
possibly while exercising several presumed components of a grammatical system and perhaps more than one of the skills
or aspects of skills.

Pragmatic tests go a little beyond integrative tests.  Pragmatic tests meet the pragmatic naturalness criteria while
integrative tests do not reach up to that point.  Unlike integrative tests, pragmatic tests invoke and challenge the
developing grammatical system of the learner.  This requires processing sequences of elements in the target language
subject to temporal contextual constraints.  In addition to this, pragmatic tests are such that learners need to relate the
linguistic sequences to extralinguistic contexts in meaningful ways.

Implications

 The above discussions indicate that pragmatic tests like dictation and cloze can be used effectively to test
language proficiency.  These two tests are valid and reliable measures of language use.  They are practical
because it is not very difficult to prepare the material, administer the test, score the test and interpret the results. 
They also have diagnostic value. Error analysis, based on the results, could offer suggestions for further
instructional programmes.
 Scoring of cloze passages could be based on contextual appropriateness and that of dictation could be based on
the correct word-in-sequence method.

 Since objective, multiple-choice items do have some advantages, some vocabulary and grammar items could be
tested using this method.

 To test the communicative efficiency, a letter could be given for which they are to write the reply.  The reply could
also be given in part thereby structuring the learners’ response partly so as to make the evaluation more effective.
This could again be scored using both contextual appropriateness criteria and correct word-in-sequence method.