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