EVALUATION AND TESTING.

i.Formative Evaluation( assessment): is an ongoing , flexible , and more informal diagnostic

tool incorporated into the lesson:

-An informal process designed to give feedback and affect the lesson i.e it aims to provide
remedial work . It allows teachers know what students already know and adjust their
instruction.

-Opens communication and focuses on growth not grades.

-It is not time consuming. 1

In sum, its aim is to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback that can be used
by students to improve their learning or it provides information about the improvement of
knowledge and skills of students .

ii. Summative Evaluation (assessment): is meant to evaluate the outcomes instead of

looking at a students‫ ׳‬development at a particular point in time. It provides information
about the attainment of knowledge and skills( it is set for certification ).

-It comes at the end of a semester or a year.

-A formal process which is highly structured.

-it evaluates the end result not the process.

-It requires more time from students and teachers .

-It produces a grade.

In sum, it aims to evaluate student learning and overall competencies at the end of an
instructional program by comparing it to a benchmark.

iii.General types of language tests:

Generally , four types of language tests are administered to language learners in order to
make decisions or four reasons determine four types of tests:

1.Placement tests: are administred in order to make decisions about where a student should
be placed within a language instructional program. Language learners with similar language
abilities should be grouped together The teachers can then work with individuals who are at
approximately the same level of development in language skills and can help them
strengthen those skills.

2. Diagnostic tests: are prepared in order to discover the difficulties and weaknesses of
language learners. They are meant to get insights on learners‫ ׳‬difficulties and improve or
remedy them.
3.Achievement or progress tests: are administered in order to provide some indication of
whether the instructional goals are being met. Achievement tests are based directly on the
instructional content of the course.In other words, they are designed to measure learner‫׳‬s
language and skill progress in relation to the syllabus they have been following. They should
reflect progress not failure.

4:Proficiency tests: provide an opportunity to test the language skills of the learners when
testing objectives are not tied to the instructional objectives but to abilities in a language
regardless of any specific instruction in it: Said differently, they give a general picture of a
student s‫ ׳‬knowledge and ability . eg:it is used for a certification
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IV.Characteristics of a good test: there three criteria:

1: Validity: a test is valid if it tests what is supposed to test.

2.Reliability: it gives consistent results .A test is reliable when there is a stability of the
scores or the grade is the same.It is consistency across time.Eg: if a learner were to take the
test again, he would yield a similar test score.

3.Practicability: the test should be at the level of the testees.