Testing terminology: a general quiz

Multiple-choice exercise

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