PALANAS, MAE A.

305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

SAINT COLUMBAN COLLEGE

Pagadian City

GADUATE SCHOOL

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION FOR

MASTER OF ARTS MAJOR IN ENGLISH
(Testing in Language and Literature)

General Direction: Give a sensible and substantial discussion with exemplifications.

(Choose 7 questions only)

1. What essential principles about assessment and evaluation should educators bear in
mind? Why?
2. What are the functions of language tests?
3. Explain each and tell when it should be best administered.
4. Give 5 assessment tools and tell its purpose.
5. Describe the phases of evaluation
6. What makes a test valid and what makes it reliable?
7. What are the different tests for productive skills?
8. Give 2 examples of literature tests and tell how each is done.
9. How to evaluate literature tests?
10. Tell the relationship of a TOS and a TQ
_____________________________________________________________________

1. What essential principles about assessment and evaluation should

educators bear in mind? Why?

Assessment and evaluation are bones in teaching, we cannot achieve our

learning objectives without these. Assessment is very important because it

affects decisions about grades and instructional needs. Assessment instigates us

to see if we are teaching what we think we are teaching and to see if the students

are learning what they are supposed to be learning. Assessment promotes us to

have a better leaning.

PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

In addition, we should also bear in mind that without evaluation we will not

able to know if we are an effective teacher or not. It enables us to see the lack of

our strategies in teaching for it gives us feedback to which part we need to

improve.

Assessment and evaluation are essential components of the teaching-

learning process. They should be planned and continuous activities should be

derived from curriculum objectives and consistent with instructional and learning

strategies. The class discussion will have a smooth flow of discussion and it has

a good direction to follow since the evaluation and objectives are aligned with

each other.

A variety of assessment and evaluation techniques should be used.

Techniques should be selected for their appropriateness to student’s styles and to

the intended purposes. Multiple intelligences and learning styles will be catered since

there are varied assessment and evaluation.

2. Give 5 assessment tools and tell its purpose.

a. Checklists

 Checklists help to provide structure for students and they are great tools to

use when you want to note the completion of a task. 

b. Rating Scales and Rubrics

 Rating Scales allow teachers to indicate the degree or frequency of the

behaviors, skills and strategies displayed by the learner. Rating scales state

the criteria and provide three or four response selections to describe the

quality or frequency of student work.

PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

c. Interviews and conference

 Interviews and conference are a highly effective alternative or supplemental

assessment method and teaching tool which students find valuable. As a

supplement to other traditional assessment methods, interviews can quickly

identify what students have done, as well as what they know. 

d. Projects and Presentations

 Project work challenges students to think beyond the boundaries of the

classroom, helping them develop the skills, behaviors, and confidence

necessary for success in the 21st-century. Designing learning environments

that help students question, analyze, evaluate, and extrapolate their plans,

conclusions, and ideas, leading them to higher–order thinking.

e. Quizzes, Tests, and Examinations

 This type of assessment tool helps you evaluate students and assess

whether they are learning what you are expecting them to learn. Crooks

(1988), McKeachie (1986), and Wergin (1988) report that students study in

ways that reflect how they think they will be tested. If they expect an exam

focused on facts, they will memorize details; if they expect a test that will

require problem solving or integrating knowledge, they will work toward

understanding and applying information. This tool can reinforce learning by

providing students with indicators of what topics or skills they have not yet

mastered and should concentrate on.

PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

3. What are the different tests for productive skills?

It is necessary to have productive language abilities in both

speech and writing, because they are the most visible proof of language

learning. One of the important skills in productive skill is speaking. In

order to assess or test the speaking skill of the learners we should

consider the speech sounds and sound patterns. The use of word and

sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second

language. The selection of appropriate words and sentences according

to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter. Also,

the organization of their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.

In addition to productive skills, writing is also very important.

Writing paragraphs or essays is one of the terrible experiences for students in

school, but it is also one of the essential skills. Learners who have interest in

writing at their young age can easily master the skill in their later life. That’s why,

student should be capable enough to write a sentence precisely. One requires a

good sort of knowledge, appropriate experience and background about the topic

which he/ she is writing.

Writing is also important to increase your knowledge, creativity and

imagination. In order to write effectively, a writer should be smart enough as he/

she writes with his experience. When a learner is writing his/ her life experiences

all his knowledge related to those memories comes out and it is easy to compose

such piece.
PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

4. What are the functions of language tests?

Language test is one of the most important tools in teaching to determine

if the students understand the discussion or the task given.  Test identifies the

results if the learner did not successfully learn the material or must try something

new in order to earn a better score. Teachers need to test to see if their teaching

has been effective. It allows the teachers to ensure students learn what they

need to know in order to meet the course's learning objectives. If the learner did

not achieve the expected outcome, perhaps there is a need to change the

teacher’s strategy. Diagnostic, formative and summative tests can be helpful in

language test for the teachers to see the strengths and weaknesses of the

learners. These tests will be given to judge the performance, behavior or the

ability of the learners.

5. Give 2 examples of literature tests and tell how each is done.

Literature tests measure students’ knowledge and ability to interpret a

piece. Literature test questions take a multiplicity of forms which may include fill

in the blank, multiple choice styles and even short or long essays. Examples of

these tests are Rewriting Texts and Predicting plots.

In the Rewriting Texts the learners write a short story based on the poem

Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Use first person point of view in your short

story. Limit it to a maximum of 700 words only.

In Predicting Plots, the activity given is based on the first paragraph of the Story

of an Hour by Kate Chopin, predict the plot of the story. Use Freytag’s Pyramid if

possible.

6. Tell the relationship of a TOS and a TQ

PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya

The specification table is a useful instrument to make sure that an assessment

evaluates the intended content and thinking skills. To ensure standardized tests

are well-designed, correct, and easy to administer, a Test of Student Skills (TOS)

is recommended. It is a fundamental piece of research and educational research

planning. TOS is also used to see the alignment of the test questionnaire. A

specification table enables the teacher. to build a test which places a strong

emphasis on the critical areas and places a lesser emphasis on the less

important ones.

7. What makes a test valid and what makes it reliable?

The test can be valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure.

Reliability is measuring things consistently. In measuring the reliability, if a

student were to retake the test, he or she would receive a comparable score the

second time around. In other words, validity of a test will inform you how effective

it is in a certain scenario.
PALANAS, MAE A.
305 Testing in Language and Literature INTRUCTOR: Jusere Ann Basaya