CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD TESTS

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The last three decades have seen developments in the exam production and evaluation process. Because Language testing at any level is a highly complex undertaking that must be based on theory as well as practice. Language testing traditionally is more concerned with the production, development and analysis of tests. Recent critical and ethical approaches to language testing have placed more emphasis on the qualities of a good test. Of the major features of a good test involved in performance assessment, Reliability, Validity, Practicality, Discrimination And Authenticity in particular have been of great concern to language testers and educators. In this regard, it is the intent of this paper to briefly discuss these five issues of a good test with special reference to language performance assessment.

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It is a small research paper on test construction, on how to develop and construct educational tests.

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Reliability is concerned with how we measure. The reliability of a test is concerned with the consistency of scoring and the accuracy of the administration procedures of the test. In this paper, the following aspects are dealt with; the definition of language testing, types of language tests based on specific purpose and orientation, the concept of reliability in language testing, factors affecting the reliability of language tests and ways of improving reliability in language testing. All these are geared towards improving teaching and learning of students in English language classes.

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Construct definition in language test development and …

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International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts

Among all the criteria required for a test, Validity is the most important criterion as it ensures that the test measures what it claims to measure. Hence all tests, especially the ones that make a major impact on the life of people, must undergo a validity check. Such a check will ensure that the huge efforts by the government in terms of test construction, and administration is justified. One of these major test administrators in Tamil Nadu is the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) which offers various tests that diagnose the level of applicants for various administrative positions in the civil society. In this paper the authors try to comment on the language tests employed in the TNPSC exams, and make a theoretical prediction of their validity. During this exploration, efforts will also be made to investigate into the criterion, content and construct validity of the test items.

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Assessment is a crucial aspect of the teaching and learning processes. According to Nunan (1999), “assessment refers to the tools, techniques, and procedures for collecting and interpreting information about what learners can and cannot do”. Based on the previous statement, this paper wants to focus its attention on tests. They are useful tools to evaluate students provided that they are implemented appropriately; that is why, their analysis is a critical factor in the assessment process, given the fact that it informs teachers about their instruction, students’ performance, and the curriculum, amongst others. Bailey (1998), states that “when we talk about a test being “appropriate,” the issue is partly whether the test provides us with the information we need to gain about the students we serve.” It is paramount to identify the desired goals we want our students to reach, the place where they are in relation to them and the tools we need to provide them with, in order to help them getting higher achievements. Tests analysis helps us to identify those aspects and to adjust our teaching practices aiming at students to succeed. In accordance with the preceding information, the effectiveness of three subtests will be analyzed, so their validity, reliability, practicality and positive washback (Bailey, 1998, p. 3) will be determined as well. These subtests are part of an only language test that was administered to eleventh graders at a public school. It mixes three different constructs taking into account that students at this grade need to be prepared to face a standardized test, which evaluates learners similarly and is called Saber Test. It assesses learners’ English skills, such as their pragmatic, lexical, communicative and grammatical knowledge, and their reading comprehension (ICFES, 2014). The test discussed in this report is a progress one, whose stimulus material is based on mythology. This topic was studied in depth during the second term of the academic year, and learners have received complementing knowledge in other classes, such as Social Studies and Spanish. My purpose is to discover whether the test I designed fulfill my students’ needs, expectations and English level or, on the contrary, it needs to be modified in order to get reliable information about my pupils’ learning process. Additionally it will be analyzed how well the test measures the constructs and the way they relate each other, as Brown (2005) advocates, validity “is the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring”.

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Journal of English Education and Teaching

The aim of this research was to find out the validity and reliability of a teacher-made test in SMAN 6 Bengkulu. This research was a descriptive quantitative research. The subject of this research was an English teacher-made test for eleventh grade students of SMAN 6 Bengkulu. There were 40 items of the test consist of 35 multiple choice items and 5 essay items. There were two research instruments used in this research, observation checklist and documentation. Based on the data analysis, it was found that the percentage of the validity score was 60% or 0.60. It means that the test was valid but in the intermediate category. The r-obtained for reliability test was 0.62 and it was considered to be reliable but was in the intermediate level of reliability. From the research finding, it can be concluded that the test was valid and reliable but both were in the intermediate category. It means that the test still need some revision and improvement in order to be a good, valid, and relia.

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Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk merancang sebuah aplikasi test evaluasi ujian nasional pada lembaga pendidikan bimbingan belajar Elmatra. Aplikasi ini dapat digunakan sebagai sarana bantu evaluasi tes menjawab soal secara langsung komputerisasi sebagai persiapan menghadapi ujian nasional bagi siswa Sekolah Tingkat Dasar (SD), Menengah (SMP) dan Tingkat Atas (SMA). Selain itu, aplikasi ini juga dapat digunakan untuk mendukung kegiatan tentor dalam memberikan materi dan latihan soal tambahan kepada siswa dan memudahkan laporan penilaian secara akurat. Desain sistem pada aplikasi ini berbasis object oriented menggunakan UML (Unified Modelling Language) sedangkan teknik pengujian menggunakan metode white box testing. Hasil dari penelitian adalah evaluasi hasil studi pada setiap akhir digunakan untuk mengetahui kemampuan siswa dalam persiapan menghadapi ujian nasional.

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