Delta Module One Revision Course

It's not enough to be clear about what you want people to learn and to design a teaching programme to achieve the objectives.  We must also have some way of knowing whether the objectives have been achieved.

Initial testing is often a diagnostic test to help formulate a syllabus and course plan or a placement test to put learners into the right class for their level.
Formative testing is used to enhance and adapt the learning programme.
Summative tests seek to measure how well a set of learning objectives has been achieved at the end of a period of instruction.

Informal evaluation may include some kind of document but there's unlikely to be a scoring system as such and evaluation might include, for example, simply observing the learner(s), listening to them and responding, giving them checklists, peer- and self-evaluation and a number of other procedures.
Formal evaluation usually implies some kind of written document (although it may be an oral test) and some kind of scoring system.  It could be a written test, an interview, an on-line test, a piece of homework or a number of other things.

Objective assessment is characterised by tasks in which there is only one right answer.  It may be a multiple-choice test, a True/False test or any other kind of test where the result can readily be seen and is not subject to the marker's judgement.
Subjective tests are those in which questions are open ended and the marker's judgement is important, for example, marking an essay and judging task completion or general impression on the reader.

Criterion-referenced tests are those in which the result is measured against a performance scale (e.g., by grades from A to E or by a score out of 100).
Norm-referencing is a way of measuring students against each other to discover, for example, which learners in a group should be separated off into a higher-level class, e.g., the top six scorers are moved to another class.

Aptitude tests test a learner’s general ability to learn a language rather than the ability to use a particular language.
An example is The Modern Language Aptitude Test (US Army)
Achievement tests measure students' performance at the end of a period of study to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.
Examples are: an end-of-course or end-of-week test etc. or even a mid-lesson test
Diagnostic tests are designed to discover learners' strengths and weaknesses for planning purposes.
An example is a test set early in a programme to plan the syllabus
Proficiency tests test a learner’s ability in the language regardless of any course they may have taken.
Examples are public examinations such as FCE etc. but also placement tests.

Alternate response
A True / False test or any test with one wrong and one right response.
E.g.:
   Mary came late: True/False
    John came before / after Mary (delete the wrong word)
Multiple-choice
This is sometimes called a fixed-response test.  The correct answer must be chosen from three, four or more alternatives.
E.g.:
Mary came to the party with:
        A: her brother
        B: her mother
        C: alone
        D: her father
Structured response
The subject is given a structure in which to form the answer.
E.g.:
Expand this to make a correct sentence:
    Mary / party / late / left / early / tired
Free response
In these tests, no guidance is given other than the rubric and the subjects are free to write or say what they like.
E.g.:
Write 200 words about a well-known actor in your country.
Hybrid structured and free response
The subject is given a list of things to include in the response.
E.g.:
Write 200 words about a well-known actor in your country.
Include where and when he/she was born, the first successful role, where she/he now lives and a photograph of the person saying where and when it was taken.  If he/she is dead, say where and when she/he died.

Direct testing is testing a particular skill by getting the student to perform that skill.
E.g.:
Testing whether someone can write a discursive essay by asking them to write one
Indirect testing is testing the abilities which underlie the skills we are interested in.
E.g.:
Testing whether someone can write a discursive essay by testing their ability to use contrastive cohesive devices, modality, hedging etc.

Discrete-point testing is a format with many items requiring short answers which each target a defined area.
E.g.:
Tests with a range of with multiple-choice items focused on vocabulary, grammar, functional language etc.
Integrative testing combines many language elements to do the task.
E.g.:
Written tasks in which marks are given for various elements: accuracy, range, communicative success etc.

Reliability refers to whether candidates would get the same result wherever and whenever the test is taken.
Validity refers to whether a test actually targets what we think it does.

The more judgement markers have to use, the greater the possibility of disparity between markers.

Test takers need to trust that a test is fair and will result in an accurate assessment of their ability.  The test must look like a real test.

Test designers need to be able to state precisely what a test is assessing and how it is doing it.