TEST TYPES
Dr. habil Fábián Gyöngyi
SITUATIONS: diagnostic/ placement/ progress/ selections
FILL THE GAPS!
1. When a school head uses an assessment to find out learners’ levels of language
ability to assign them to the most suitable class group, this is a( n)
_________________ function.
2. When a college uses results from an assessment to decide which students to admit
to the course and which to reject, this is a( n) _________________ function.
3. When a teacher gives an assessment to find out which English sounds are difficult
for learners and to choose useful practice exercises, this is a( n)
_________________ function.
4. When a teacher uses an assessment to find out how much the learners in her class
have learned (and so where she needs to review material), this is a( n)
_________________ function.
AIMS: FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
https://vimeo.com/187545455
ENVIRONMENT: FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
Answer the questions with the choosing the correct words.
When? Before/during/after course
on going/ terminal assessment
Who? One class/ many students
Internal/ external
What? Narrow/ broad range of language
Language form/ language use
How? Objectively/ subjectively
Formal/ informal
Why? Assist learning/ assess learning
Backward/ forward looking
FORMATIVE
When? during
on going
Who? One class
Internal
What? Narrow range of language
Language form
How? Objectively + subjectively
informal
Why? Assist learning
Backward and forward looking
SUMMATIVE
Answer the questions with the choosing the correct words.
When? after course
terminal assessment
Who? many students
external
What? broad range of language
Language form/ language use
How? Objectively/ subjectively
Formal
Why? assess learning
Backward and/or forward looking
PURPOSES
BEFORE: APTITUDE
DURING:
PLACEMENT
DIAGNOSTIC
PROGRESS
ACHIEVEMENT
AFTER: PROFICIENCY
Test types
Proficiency test: measure overall language proficiency independent of
any language course that the candidates may have attended
Achievement test: measure the students’ achievement on a completed
course of studies
Progress test: measure how much the students have learnt of the
recently taught material
Diagnostic test: diagnose students’ strengths and weaknesses in
language knowledge and use, to find out what they know and what
they do not know
Placement test: assist placement of students by identifying the stage or
part of a teaching programme which is the most appropriate to the
level of their proficiency
Aptitude test: identify general abilities, to find out who is to be good at
learning languages
APTITUDE TEST
• They can predict how good language learners
students are likely to become.
• Rather tests of general intelligence
and linguistic ability
Focus on memory, grammatical ability, vocabulary level in native
language, interest in the foreign language, language analysis,
sound discrimination, language background, language learning
attitudes, verbal intelligence, language aptitude, educational
level, age, learning style etc.)
PLACEMENT TEST
They test students’ previous language-learning experience.
Students are arranged in groups or language
classes of the appropriate level.
Tend to be quick, simple and easy to administer.
(Rough estimate of students’ general knowledge of the
language)
Most rely on objective techniques for reasons of reliability and
practicality.
ACHIEVEMENT TEST
They look back over a longer period to check how much of the syllabus
has been acquired.
Purposes: certification, promotion to a more advanced course, entry
qualification for higher education, planning the next phase, etc.
Based on the taught syllabus and the teaching methods.
Examples may be
• internal (set by the teacher or the school, but quite often they are quite
formal and
• externally (formal by a ministry of education or a testing authority.
• large-scale tests covering most or all the four skills.
• summative in nature
PROGRESS TEST
They are very similar to achievement tests but look back over
a shorter period.
Purpose: measure the progress that the students are making.
Based on the taught syllabus and the teaching methods.
Formative in nature
Small-scale tests covering one or two language aspects
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
They are used to identify students’ language problems,
weaknesses or deficiencies
Purpose: obtaining information of which language areas require
further teaching (to plan future teaching priorities)
• usually large-scale
• look back over a wide range of language and assess which areas
might be problematic
• usually administered at the start of a new phase of language
teaching
PROFICIENCY TEST
They are designed to measure the test takers’ ability in a language
(present level of mastery).
• Based on a specification of what test takers have to be able to
do in order to be proficient
• Large scale, complex, administered by external body
• Tests of aggregate proficiency contain a broad range of language
tasks and have several sub tests.
• Tests of specific/applied proficiency (e.g. ESP)
VIDEO: Reflections from the classroom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em5KHBQlIAQ
