TEST FORMAT
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PROS
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CONS
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Short answer questions eg 'How tall are elephants?' 'Three metres.'
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Easy to write and mark. Very good for checking gist or intensive understanding of texts.
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Some writing. Important not to mark for accuracy and to decide what answers are correct. Need to ensure q's do not test ss' knowledge of the world.
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Table completion eg 'Complete the table with information.' (age / family etc).
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Easy to construct and mark. Good for checking specific info or data form a text.
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Some writing. Need to decide on what answers accepted as correct.
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Diagrams/maps/pictures eg 'Label the places on the map'
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Quite realistic, motivating tasks. Good for checking specific info.
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Can be difficult to draw pictures. Could involve non-linguistic skills (eg map reading).
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Listing eg 'List the kinds of food mentioned in the text'.
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Realistic. Easy to write and mark. Better for listening than reading.
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Tests recognition of words. Does not test understanding or meaning.
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True, false, don't know eg 'Mark the sentences t/f or dk: Lions are cats.'
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Easy to write. Quite realistic. Tests gist or intensive understanding well.
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High guessing element: 50% for t/f, 33% for tlfldk.
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Multiple choice eg 'Choose the correct answer: John goes out- a sometimes b rarely с never.'
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Very easy to mark thus good for very large classes. Good for checking gist or intensive understanding.
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Very difficult to construct. Wrong options (distracters/ can distract better students. Guessing element.
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Sequencing (texts/ pictures) eg 'Listen and put the paragraphs in order.'
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Easy to construct. Good for stories (listening) and for linking of discourse.
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Very difficult to mark. If one answer is wrong, others are too. Impractical unless marking scheme is adapted.
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Text Completion eg 'Listen and complete the information about the film.'
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Quite realistic. Good for listening for specific info.
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For reading it tests knowledge of language, (see close and gap-fill)
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Problem solving eg 'From the following info work out the people's names'
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Realistic and good fun. Tests global understanding.
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Can test general IQ not ability to read or listen.
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Word attack eg 'Work out the meaning of these words from the text.'
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Tests ability to infer meaning from context (for reading).
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NOT suitable for listening (when it can work as a vocabulary
test).
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Identify topic (text/paragraph) eg 'Match the title with the text.'
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Good for gist reading. Easy to construct and mark.
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Need to think of suitable answers when questions are open (eg giving titles to texts).
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Linking eg 'What does the underlined word refer to? Ц arrived late.'
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Good for testing intensive understanding 1 linking within text, (cohesion)
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Need to underline words and give line numbers to make task easier to do and mark.
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Identify linking words in a text eg after/next etc
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Good for working out how a text holds together (cohesion)
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Can be more a test of word recognition than of understanding.
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Discrepancies eg 'Read the text then listen and list the differences."
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Realistic, integrative test of both reading and listening.
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Difficult to see if problems are due to listening or reading.
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This session is aimed at developing students' skills in selecting texts for reading in the classroom and designing activities for various texts.