Matakuliah
Tahun
: <<Kode>>/<<Nama mtkul>>
: <<Tahun Pembuatan>>
KINDS of TESTS
Pertemuan 14
1
Kinds of Tests
I.
Test Constructions :
a.
b.
c.
d.
II.
Achievement
Proficiency
Diagnostic
Placement
Types of Tests :
a.
b.
To test language
To test skills
2
ACHIVEMENT TESTS :
 Test which are directly related to language courses, their purpose being to
establish how successful individual students, groups of students, or the
courses themselves have been in achieving objectives.
 They are of two kinds : final achievement tests and progress achievement
tests.
 Final achievement Tests:
are those administered at the end of a course of study.
 Progress achievement Tests:
are intended to measure the progress that students are making.
3
Formal tests : are usually done at the end of a year or before
starting a new course, etc.
Informal tests: such as progress test.
4
Why is it important to give regular tests to the
class :
1. They tell TEACHER:
- what the students can & cannot do
- how successful the teaching has been
- what areas need to be taught in the future
2. They tell STUDENTS:
- how well they are progressing
- where they need to focus their attention as learners
Regular tests also encourage students to take their
learning seriously, and give them a series of definite
goals to aim towards.
5
PROFICIENCY TESTS
 Tests which are designed to measure people’s ability in a
language regardless of any training they may have had
in that language.
 The content of a proficiency test, therefore, is not based
on the content or objectives of language courses which
people may have followed. Rather, it is based on a
specification of what candidates have to be able to do in
the language in order to be considered proficient.
6

In the case of some proficiency tests, “proficient” means having
sufficient command of the language for a particular purpose.

For example a test used to determine whether a student’s
English is good enough to follow a course of study at a British
university.

There are other proficiency tests which do not have any course
of study in mind. For them the concept of proficiency is more
general, for example : the Cambridge Examinations (First Certificate
Examination) and the Oxford EFL examinations.
7
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
They are used to identify students’ strengths and
weaknesses.
They are intended primarily to ascertain what further
teaching is necessary. The lack of good diagnostic tests
is unfortunate. They could be extremely useful for
individualized instruction or self-instruction. Learners
would be shown where gaps exist in their command of
the language, and could be directed to sources of
information, exemplification and practice.
8
PLACEMENT TESTS
They are intended to provide information which will help
to place students at the stage of the teaching program
most appropriate to their abilities. Typically they are used
to assign students to classes at different levels.
The placement tests which are most successful are
those constructed for particular situations. They depend
on the identification of the key features at different levels
of teaching in the institution. They are tailor made.
9
TYPES OF TESTS
WHAT SHOULD WE TEST ?
 Grade doesn’t really tell either the T or the Sts very much
unless they know exactly what the grade is based on.
 One St maybe very good at listening but bad at writing, another St may
speak fluently but make many grammar mistakes, and so on.
 So, in order to comment on a students’ progress, we need to
test particular skills and abilities.
To test language :
Grammar
Vocabulary
Spelling
Pronunciation
To test skills :
Listening
Reading
Speaking
Writing
10
Work Activity :
Look at the 5 questions below and discuss with your friends
Specific skills and abilities which you could test your
students to find out:
1. Can they follow street directions ?
2. Can they form the past simple tense correctly ?
3. Can they write a few sentences about their family ?
4. Do they know common words for rooms and furniture ?
5. Can they understand a simple description of their town ?
11
Answers:
1. Listening (and Vocabulary )
2. Grammar
3. Writing ( and Grammar, Vocabulary )
4. Vocabulary
5. Reading or Listening ( and Vocabulary )
12