English Language Testing and

Evaluation
EFL413
 Why test?
• Diagnose students strengths and needs
• Provide feedback on student learning
• Provide a basis for instructional placement
• Inform and guide instruction
• Communicate learning expectations
• Motivate and focus students’ attention and
effort
• Provide practice applying knowledge and skills
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Observations

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test

Assignments

Questionnaires
Interviews
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Journals/logs

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Assignments

Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Projects

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Journals/logs Assignments

Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Portfolios

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Discussions

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Standardized tests

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Discussions Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Discussions Projects
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
 This type of testing/evalutation spans two columns:
Standardized tests

Pre-assessment Formative Summative

(diagnostic) (ongoing) (final)
Pretests Quizzes Teacher-made test
Observations Discussions Portfolios
Journals/logs Assignments Projects
Discussions Projects Standardized tests
Questionnaires Observations
Interviews Portfolios
Journals/logs
Standardized tests
 EFL teachers
• Should EFL teachers know about linguistics?
Why? Why not?
• If you were to take a multiple choice test with
ten questions about basic linguistic
terminology, how many do you think you’d get
right?
• Write your prediction down.
 Basic Linguistic Terminology
• You will see ten multiple choice questions.
• You will have 30 seconds to choose an answer.
• Write your answers on a piece of paper.

From: http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz691417ecee0.html
How did you feel?
 You and tests
Tests that left you feeling Tests that made you feel
• Positive • Degraded
• Self-confident • Anxious
• Motivated • De-motivated

Why? Why?
 How did you do?
1. Apocope
2. Alphabetism
3. Exonym
4. Prothesis
5. Dissimilation
6. Jakob Grimm
7. Clinical linguistics
8. L1 or First Language
9. Folk etymology
10. Glossolalia
 Three key concepts
• Te_____ • Testing
• As________ • Assessment
• Te______ • Teaching
 What is a test?
What makes a test “a test”? 4 – 5 keywords?

A method of …

(Brown, 2004)
 What is a test?
What makes a test “a test”? 4 – 5 keywords?

A method of measuring a person’s ability,

knowledge or performance in a given domain
(Brown, 2004)
 What is a test?
• Measure – what? How? • Performance
– General ability / specific – Competence (actual use
knowledge of language)
– Individual ability and – Metalanguage (e.g.
performance grammar); Skills (e.g.
– % | AA | Pass/Fail – must infer)
have result • Domain
• The person – General competence
– Appropriate? (e.g. proficiency)
– Interpretation? – Specific criteria (e.g.
– Relevance? vocabulary,
pronunciation, grammar)
 What makes a good test?

A well-constructed
test is….
• “A well-constructed test is an instrument that
provides an accurate measure of a test taker's
ability within a particular domain.”
Brown, 2003
 Assessment
• Is assessment synonymous with testing?
 Which is which?
Assessment Testing
• ongoing process • administrative procedure
• Generally encompasses a • specific times
wide domain • curriculum referenced
• subconscious impression • peak performance
• Incidental judgment • measured and evaluated
• implicit evaluation
 Where is the line…
• …between assessment and testing?
• …between assessment and teaching?
Which best describes the relationship?

Tests Teaching Assessment

Assessment
Tests

Teaching

Tests

Assessment

Teaching
 The four winds of assessment
Formative Formal

Tests

Informal Summative
What characteristics do these have?
Informal Formal Formative Summative

Nice job!
WW – Gr - Sp
Watch out! /id/ not /it/
Progress test
Proficiency test
Student journal
 Testing terminology
• Norm referenced

• Criterion referenced
 Norm-referenced terminology
• standardized tests
• Scholastic Achievement Test
• rank order
• standard deviatıon
• percentile rank
• mean (average score)
• median (middle score)
• large-scale testing
• pre-determined responses
 Criterion referenced terminology
• feedback
• learning objectives
• classroom-based
• curriculum
• instructional value
 Testing
Philosophy (Order according to Instruments (Match to
history) philosophy)
• Communicative Language a. Integrative testing/whole
teaching language (cloze/dictation)
• Humanism b. Performance based
(portfolio, collaborative,
• Learner centered
interactive)
• Behaviourism c. Discrete-point testing
(decontextualized –
language broken in parts)
d. Language competence
(authentic tasks)
 Testing
Philosophy (Order according to Instruments (Match to
history) philosophy)
1. Behaviourism 1. Discrete-point testing
2. Humanism (decontextualized –
language broken in parts)
3. Communicative Language
2. Integrative testing/whole
teaching language (cloze/dictation)
4. Learner centered 3. Language competence
(authentic tasks)
4. Performance based
(portfolio, collaborative,
interactive)
• MOODLE – key=###xxx
– Reading and discussion, Brown, 2004, Chapter 1,
pp. 1-11.
• Facebook group – METU EFL413
– Links to download course materials
• TWITTER – join @neufelds/efl413