ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING

“Subjective and Objective Tests”

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INDRIYANI
10535562513

BG VI G
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF MAKASSAR
2016
 CHAPTER VI
SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE TESTS

A. SUBJECTIVE TEST

1. Definition of Subjective Test

In general, a subjective matter are questions that require students to answer in
the form of describing, explaining, discussing, comparing, reasoning, and other
similar forms in accordance with the demands of the question by using words and
language itself. Then the required tests the ability of learners to generalize their ideas
through written language so that the type of questions is more subjectively power test.
The number of questions a subjective form is usually not much, only about 5-10
pieces of matter within approximately 90-120 minutes. The questions of this form
requires the ability of learners to be able to organize, interpret, and connect the
notions that have been owned. Like in an essay test, for instance, testees must think of
what to say and then express their ideas as well as possible.

2. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Subjective Test

The advantages of subjective test:
 Easily prepared and compiled.
 Did not give many opportunities to speculate or chancy.
 Encourage students to dare to express opinions and to develop in the form of
good sentence.
 Provide opportunities for learners to express his point by style and his own
way.
 Can find out how far learners explore a problem that tested
The disadvantages of subjective test:
 The limited scope of the lesson material and the difficulty of correcting
answers assessed objectively (Sudjana, 2001: 262).
 Low levels of validity and reliability because difficult-known aspect of the
knowledge which the students who truly have mastered.
 Less representative in terms of representing the entire scope lesson material
that will be tested because the question only some (limited).
 How to examine many elements influenced by subjective.
  The examination is more difficult because it requires more individualized
consideration of the assessor.
 Time for a correction long and cannot be delegated to others.

3. The Forms of Subjective Test

1) Essay Test
Essay tests are tests that are arranged in the form of structured questions and
the students compose, organize themselves answer each question with a language
of its own. This essay test is very useful to develop the ability to explain or
express an opinion in their own language.

a. The advantages Essay Test namely:

 Learners can organize the answers to their opinion.
 Students cannot guess the answers to the questions.
 This test is suitable for measuring and evaluating the results of a learning
process that is complex or difficult to quantify by using an objective test.
 The degree of accuracy and reliability of students can be seen from the
sentences.
 Answer disclosed in the words and sentences them, so the test can be used
to train the preparation of the sentence with good language, right, and
quickly.
 This test is used to train the learners to choose the facts relevant to the
issue, and organizing it is hard to accurately assess so as to reveal the
result of thinking that is integrated as a whole.

b. The Weakness Essay tests are:

 Difficult to assess precisely.

 The material being measured is too little, so it is difficult to measure

students' mastery of the whole curriculum.
 It's hard to get questions that have national and international standards.

 Takes time to check the result.

2) Oral Test
Oral test is a test that the implementation is done by holding a question and
answer directly between teachers and students. These tests included verbal test
group, namely the test questions and answers using spoken language.
 a. The advantages Essay Test namely:

 Can assess the ability and knowledge level of the students, attitudes,
and personality because it is done face to face.
 For students thinking ability is relatively slow, so often had difficulty
in understanding the problem statement, this test can help because
students can ask questions directly clarity in question.
 The test results can be immediately known learners.
b. The Weakness Essay tests are:

 Subjectivity educators often contaminate the test results,

 The timing of the necessary

B. OBJECTIVE TEST

1. Definition of Objective Test

In general, objective tests require far more careful preparation than subjective
tests. Examiner tend to spend a relatively short time on setting the questions but
considerable time in making. in an objective test the tester spends a great deal of time
constructing each test item as carefully as possible, attempting to anticipate the
various reactions of the testees at each stage. The effort is rewarded, however, In the
case of the marking.
Objective tests are frequently criticized on the grounds that they are simpler to
answer than subjective tests. Items in an objective test, however, can be made just as
easy or as difficult as the constructor wishes. The fact that objective tests may look
easier is no indication at all that they are easier. the constructor of a standardized or
achievement or proficiency test not only selects and constructs the items carefully but
analyzes student performance on each item and rewrite the items where necessary so
that the final version of his/her test discriminates widely. Setting the pass-mark, or the
cutting-off point, may depend on the tester’s subjective judgment or on a particular
external situation. Objective tests, and some subjective tests, can be pre-tested before
being administered on a wider basis. This procedure enables the test constructor to
calculate the approximate degree of difficulty of the test.
Another criticism is that objective tests of the multiple-choice type encourage
guessing. However, four or five alternatives for each item are sufficient to reduce the
 possibility of guessing. Furthermore, experience shows that candidates rarely make
wild guesses, most base their guesses on partial knowledge.
It cannot be emphasized too strongly that test objectivity by itself provides no
guarantee that a test is sound and reliable. An objective test will be a very poor test if:
 The test items are poorly written
 Irrelevant areas and skills are emphasized in the test simply because they are
testable, and
 It is confined to language-based usage and neglects the communicative skills
involved.
Objective tests are assessment procedures where the various test items can be
marked with total reliability by anybody, including non-subject-specialists, and in
some cases by computer. Although such items are often criticised on the grounds that
they are only suitable for use at lower-cognitive level, this is not necessarily the case.
Indeed, it is perfectly possible (albeit more difficult) to design items to test at higher-
cognitive levels, and also to test in some non-cognitive areas.
Objective test requires students to choose the correct answer among the
possible answers that have been provided, giving short answers, and completed
questions or statements that are not perfect. Objective test is suitable for assessing the
ability of learners who require mental processes are not so High temperatures such as
the ability to recall, ability to know the back, understanding and ability to apply the
principles.

2. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Objective Test

The advantages of Objective Test
 To answer an objective test is not a lot of time wear.
 Higher reliability when compared with test Essay, because judgment is
objective.
 Scoring and how to assess objectively test more quickly and easily because it
does not require special skills of the giver values.
 Easier and faster ways check it because it can use the key test results even
tools of technological progress.
 The examination can be handed over to others.
 Objective tests did not care about the mastery of the language, so it is easy to
implement.
The Disadvantages of Objective Test
  Students often make a guess in providing answers, because they have not
mastered the lesson material.
 Indeed test sampling posed to students is quite a lot, and it only takes a
relatively short time to answer.
 Not used to take students to a high level thinking.
 Many costly, because the sheet of test items should as many as the number of
followers test.
 Cooperation among learners at the time working on test questions more open.

3. Types of Objective Test

a. Multiple-choice
Multiple-choice items are undoubtedly the most widely used types of items in
objective test. Multiple-choice test is one of the most difficult and time-
consuming types of items to construct. The optimum number of alternative for
multiple-choice items is five in most public tests. The number of items included in
a test will vary according to the level of difficulty, the nature of the areas being
tested, and the purpose of the test.
The initial part of each multiple-choice item is known as the stem; the choices
from which the students select their answers are referred to as options, responses,
or alternatives. One option is the answer, correct option, or key, while the other
options are distractors.
The following general principles should be observed when multiple-choice
items are constructed.
 Each item should have only one answer
 Only one feature at a time should be tested.
 Each option should be grammatically correct when placed in the stem,
expect of course in the case of specific grammar test items.
 All items should be a brief and as clear as possible.
 The items should be arranged in rough order of increasing difficulty.
b. True-False
This is another extremely popular type of objective item. It consists of a
statement which the testee has to indicate to be 'true' or 'false'. Such items are
often presented in the form of a series covering different aspects of the same
topic. Such series of items are particularly useful for providing feedback on
progress to students undertaking self-study.
c. Completion
The test consists of a sentence stuffing is removed (by dots). The part that is
removed filled out by an understanding test participants were asked to statements
made to be a true statement.
d. Matching
These are variations on the basic multiple-choice item format. Each item
consists of two lists of statements, words, symbols or numbers which have to be
matched one with another. In general, the two lists contain different numbers of
entries, those entries in the longer list that do not correspond to entries in the
shorter list serving the function of distractors.