What’s the meaning of language assessment?

Language assessment is a measure of the proficiency a language user has in any

given language. It could be a first or second language. Tests are one form of
language assessment and there are many others. They fall into two categories:
summative and formative.
What is the difference between summative and formative assessment?
Formative assessment involves gathering data for improving student learning,
whereas Summative assessment uses data to assess about how much a student
knows or has retained at the completion of learning sequence.

There are three main concepts in determining meaningful language assessment:

validity and reliability. What are they?
It refers to the judgment or estimate of how well a test measures
what it purposes to measure in a particular context. The validity
Validity
of a test or an assessment is grounded in the soundness of the
interpretations that are made of the tests scores
Reliability is a product, system or service will perform its
Reliability intended function adequately for specified period of time.
Reliability is the consistency of the measurement.

A language assessment can cover one or more of the following four key skills:
reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
There are many kinds of tests, each with a specific purpose and a particular
criterion to be measured. Skim the chapter 20 Language Assessment: Principles
and Issues from the book Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to
Language Pedagogy by Brown H.D. and fill in the missing gaps.

Kind of test Definition Example

an exam which test how
proficient or skilled
Proficiency Tests someone is in a particular
activity, field of study,
language, etc.
Diagnostic Tests A diagnostic test is a test
used to identify a
condition or its cause. It
is used to diagnose. A
diagnostic test performed
as a part of a medical
 exam may be used to
identify the cause of
symptoms or identify a
disease. When used for
other purposes, a
diagnostic test may be
used to identify specific
strengths and
weaknesses.
Many colleges require
placement tests for
incoming first-year
students. Placement tests
assess your English,
reading, math, and
Placement Tests foreign language skills.
College placement test
results determine your
first-year English and
math classes. Many free
resources exist to help
you prepare for test day.
Achievement Tests An achievement test is a
test of developed skill or
knowledge. The most
common type of
achievement test is a
standardized test
developed to measure
skills and knowledge
learned in a given grade
level, usually through
planned instruction, such
as training or classroom
instruction.Achievement
tests are often contrasted
with tests that measure
aptitude, a more general
and stable cognitive trait.

Shaxzoda Fakhriddinova
18:50
Many colleges require
placement tests for
incoming first-year
 students. Placement tests
assess your English,
reading, math, and
foreign language skills.
College placement test
results determine your
first-year English and
math classes. Many free
resources exist to help
you prepare for test day.
An aptitude test is a way
to measure a job
candidate’s cognitive
abilities, work
behaviours, or
personality traits.
Aptitude tests will
examine your numeracy,
logic and problem-
solving skills, as well as
Aptitude Tests
how you deal with work
situations. They are a
proven method to assess
employability skills.

Aptitude tests measure a

range of skills such as
numerical ability,
language comprehension
and logical reasoning.