Testing terminology: a general quiz

Multiple-choice exercise

Choose the best answer for each question.
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  1. Direct testing differs from discrete-point testing because:
    1.   the former attempts to test the underlying skills while the latter gets the learner to undertake the skill being tested.
    2.   the former gets the learner to undertake the skill being tested, while the latter attempts to test the underlying skills.
  2. Face validity is a measure of:
    1.   how well we can describe what we are testing.
    2.   a subjective judgement of a test's fairness.
    3.   how well a test actually targets the desired skills.
    4.   how well a test is designed.
  3. Analytic scoring involves:
    1.   scoring a mark for each component of a task.
    2.   adding up the marks to get an overall picture.
    3.   breaking down the scores to produce a histogram.
    4.   scoring for an overall impression.
  4. Backwash is:
    1.   the affect of testing on teacher competence.
    2.   the affect of testing on learner performance.
    3.   the effect on the learning / teaching process of a test.
    4.   the affect of teaching on test design.
  5. A multiple-choice test contains:
    1.   a rubric and some distractors.
    2.   a stem and a number of distractors.
    3.   distractors and a common core question.
    4.   a choice of true or false.
  6. Criterion referencing is:
    1.   measuring performance based on overall communicative success.
    2.   measuring performance against a range of predetermined criteria.
    3.   measuring performance against a benchmarked student.
    4.   choosing the most useful criteria when standardising test markers.
  7. If 40 out of 100 students get an answer right, that item has a value of 0.4. This is a measure of:
    1.   easiness.
    2.   standard deviation.
    3.   facility value.
    4.   usefulness.
  8. Unique answer items have:
    1.   only three correct answers in a set of four possible ones.
    2.   no equivalents elsewhere in the test.
    3.   only true or false answers to select from.
    4.   only one possible right answer.
  9. What is the guess ratio for a multiple-choice test with 5 possible answers to each question?
    1.   33%
    2.   20%
    3.   25%
    4.   30%
  10. Holistic scoring means:
    1.   assessing by direct testing.
    2.   judging on the basis of an overall impression.
    3.   marking items independently.
    4.   adding all the scores together.
  11. What is the mean score of 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26?
    1.   22
    2.   21
    3.   25
    4.   23
  12. Validity is a measure of:
    1.   how fair a test is.
    2.   how the test will parallel results of other tests.
    3.   how well we can describe the abilities we are testing.
    4.   how well a test measures what it is intended to measure.
  13. The Cambridge First Certificate examination is a:
    1.   performative test.
    2.   proficiency test.
    3.   diagnostic test.
    4.   achievement test.
  14. Aptitude testing is:
    1.   assessing how well learners will be able to acquire the targets.
    2.   assessing communicative success.
    3.   assessing intelligence.
    4.   assessing general cognitive ability.
  15. Achievement tests are:
    1.   tests of general ability to learn language.
    2.   tests designed to influence the teaching programme.
    3.   tests to measure what learners know and don't know.
    4.   tests directly related to a language course designed.
  16. True score refers to:
    1.   the learner's total score without any subjective marking judgments.
    2.   the learner's score minus an amount for guessing correctly.
    3.   a theoretical measurement of a learner's score excluding any problems of reliability.
    4.   the score measured as the difference from the mean score of all the test takers.
  17. Integrative testing is another description of:
    1.   direct testing.
    2.   holistic testing.
    3.   analytic testing.
    4.   discrete-point testing.
  18. Benchmarking is:
    1.   establishing a set of usable marking criteria.
    2.   the use of one student to compare the performance of others.
    3.   ranking students' performance against a set of criteria.
    4.   the use of a few test scripts to standardise marking.
  19. If a test is reliable, this means that:
    1.   the test will have a high facility ratio.
    2.   the test will be objective.
    3.   the results will be a valid measure of a test-taker's ability in the skill we are testing.
    4.   the results will be comparable regardless of where and when the test is taken
  20. Paraphrase test items require the learner to:
    1.   summarise what they read or hear.
    2.   correct what they read or hear.
    3.   re-express what they hear or read in their own words.
    4.   re-express what they hear or read in a different form.