Principles of Language Assessment

EFL Learners

5 Cardinal criteria for “Testing a Test”

• Practicality• Reliability• Validity• Authenticity• Washback

Practicality

• Is not excessively expensive• Stays within appropriate time constraints• Is relatively easy to administer• Has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is

specific and time-efficient.

Reliability

a. Student-Related Reliabilityb. Rater Reliabilityc. Test Administration Reliabilityd. Test Reliability

Validity

a. Content-Related Evidanceb. Criterion-Related Evidancec. Construct-Related Evidanced. Consequential Validitye. Face Validity

Authenticity

• The language in the test is as natural as possible• Items are contextualized rather than isolated• Topics are meaningful (relevant, interesting) for

the learner• Some thematic organization to items is provided,

such as through a story line or episode• Tasks represent, or closely approximate, real-

world tasks

Washback

• The test have on instruction in terms of how students prepare the test

• To create classroom tests that serve as learning devices

• Help students through a specification of the numerical scores on the various subsections of the test

• Achieved by a quick consideration of differences between formative and summative tests

Applying Principles to The Evaluation of Classroom Test

• Are the test procedures practical?• Is the test reliable?• Does the procedure demonstrate content

validity?• Is the procedure face valid and ‘biased for best’?• Are the test tasks as authentic as possible?• Does the test offer beneficial washback to the

learner?