P2 T1

factors to consider
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Terms in this set (8)
factors to consider
Administration, Level, Instructions, Test Type, Length, Evidence, Fresh starts, Activity Type, Content, Age, Timing, Item Type, Needs, Marking, Adaptability, Language, Format, Imagination vs. Communication.
Administration
effect the way the test is administered may have on the learner and affect reliability of results

Examples:
-the test is given one-to-one --> lots of waiting --> dissatisfaction
-young learners talking to strangers--> could "freeze" in a test situation
the picture that emerged of the learner's ability might not be a reflection of her true competence in peer-to-peer interaction.
Level
tests needs to be "doable" at the learner's level--> reliable evidence of level of communicative competence (placed in correct class)


-too difficult-->demotivation
-too easy it may not give the teacher, the learner, or other stakeholders the evidence that they need to make decisions regarding further study

-progress test, level of difficulty will be determined by such factors as how many "tricky" items are included

-placement test, level of learner is unknown and it needs to be "doable" by learners at a variety of levels
Instructions
How clear are the instructions for the activity? Is there an example?
L not clear about what to do (unfamiliar activity type)--> unreliable results (not based on linguistic competence).
Test type and adaptability
a placement test
a diagnostic test
a progress test
an achievement test
proficiency test

Each of these will have different objectives, and will therefore need a different format, contents etc

Example
A progress test will therefore not need to be "doable" at different levels only ss who have studied that specific language
Length
-Too short --> inadequate coverage of language items and skills -->unreliable results.
- Too long -->problems of practicality (marking time, staffing costs)
Evidence
test is intended to provide evidence of some sort for the stakeholders (employer, university)

unreliable results-->detrimental to L and stakeholder
Fresh start
Fresh starts make test more reliable

ur "speciality" or if you had a general knowledge of everything but in-depth knowledge of nothing, you might do less well than someone who in fact knew relatively little, but just happened to know a lot about the three topics she had to or chose to answer questions on. With the new format, this can't happen. With eight questions, many of which have a number of different sections, and all of which are marked by individual point made, there are now numerous "fresh starts". If you don't know the first term defined in Paper 1.1, you may still know the second; if you can't analyse the phonology of the phrases specified in Paper 1.5, you may still be able to analyse the form and meaning, and so on. So fresh starts lead to a much more reliable result - there is no chance of the result being swayed by a specific strength or weakness. Applying this to our placement test, this test has no "fresh starts". Presuming that the learner starts narrating the story using past verb forms, her final mark is liable to be dominated by her accuracy and fluency in using those. If this is high, it may hide the fact that when talking about the future she relies exclusively on will + infinitive. Or if it is low, may not reveal that in general social conversation using the present simple, she is both accurate and fluent.