Testing terminology: a general quiz

Multiple-choice exercise

Choose the best answer for each question.
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  1. 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%
  2. 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.
  3. 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 results will be comparable regardless of where and when the test is taken
    4.   the test will be objective.
  4. 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.
  5. Paraphrase test items require the learner to:
    1.   correct what they read or hear.
    2.   re-express what they hear or read in a different form.
    3.   summarise what they read or hear.
    4.   re-express what they hear or read in their own words.
  6. 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.
  7. Backwash is:
    1.   the effect on the learning / teaching process of a test.
    2.   the affect of testing on learner performance.
    3.   the affect of teaching on test design.
    4.   the affect of testing on teacher competence.
  8. Validity is a measure of:
    1.   how the test will parallel results of other tests.
    2.   how well a test measures what it is intended to measure.
    3.   how fair a test is.
    4.   how well we can describe the abilities we are testing.
  9. Holistic scoring means:
    1.   judging on the basis of an overall impression.
    2.   assessing by direct testing.
    3.   marking items independently.
    4.   adding all the scores together.
  10. What is the mean score of 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26?
    1.   25
    2.   22
    3.   21
    4.   23
  11. Benchmarking is:
    1.   establishing a set of usable marking criteria.
    2.   the use of one student to compare the performance of others.
    3.   the use of a few test scripts to standardise marking.
    4.   ranking students' performance against a set of criteria.
  12. Face validity is a measure of:
    1.   how well a test actually targets the desired skills.
    2.   a subjective judgement of a test's fairness.
    3.   how well a test is designed.
    4.   how well we can describe what we are testing.
  13. Criterion referencing is:
    1.   measuring performance against a benchmarked student.
    2.   measuring performance against a range of predetermined criteria.
    3.   measuring performance based on overall communicative success.
    4.   choosing the most useful criteria when standardising test markers.
  14. Unique answer items have:
    1.   only true or false answers to select from.
    2.   no equivalents elsewhere in the test.
    3.   only one possible right answer.
    4.   only three correct answers in a set of four possible ones.
  15. Integrative testing is another description of:
    1.   discrete-point testing.
    2.   holistic testing.
    3.   analytic testing.
    4.   direct testing.
  16. Aptitude testing is:
    1.   assessing general cognitive ability.
    2.   assessing how well learners will be able to acquire the targets.
    3.   assessing intelligence.
    4.   assessing communicative success.
  17. A multiple-choice test contains:
    1.   distractors and a common core question.
    2.   a stem and a number of distractors.
    3.   a rubric and some distractors.
    4.   a choice of true or false.
  18. The Cambridge First Certificate examination is a:
    1.   performative test.
    2.   achievement test.
    3.   proficiency test.
    4.   diagnostic test.
  19. True score refers to:
    1.   the learner's score minus an amount for guessing correctly.
    2.   a theoretical measurement of a learner's score excluding any problems of reliability.
    3.   the score measured as the difference from the mean score of all the test takers.
    4.   the learner's total score without any subjective marking judgments.
  20. Analytic scoring involves:
    1.   scoring for an overall impression.
    2.   adding up the marks to get an overall picture.
    3.   scoring a mark for each component of a task.
    4.   breaking down the scores to produce a histogram.