Assessment

Diego Ulloa Iglesias

Concept Bachman Brown

Reliability

It refers to the consistency of measurement between: - equivalent forms of the test - equivalent forms reliability. -(and within) raters – inter-raters and intra-raters reliability. - sittings: test-retest reliability. - test: internal consistency.

A reliable test is consistent and dependable. For instance, if you give the same test to the same students in two different occasions, the test should yield similar results. Reliability will depend on: - the test itself (test reliability). - the administration of the test (test administration reliability). - the test-taker (student-related reliability). - the scoring of the test (rater—or scorer, reliability).

Validity

It refers to the meaningfulness and appropriateness of the interpretations that we make on the basis of the scores and also to the domain of generalization (prediction outside of test tasks). The ongoing process of validation has to demonstrate that a particular interpretation of test scores is justified by reflecting the area of language ability the teacher wants to measure.

It is worth mentioning that this concept is simply called “Construct Validity” by this author and he does

not spread it out into types as Brown.

A test is valid if it actually assesses the objectives and what has been taught. - Content validity (if a test samples the subject matter about which conclusions are to be drawn). - Criterion validity (if there is evidence that a test accurately and sufficiently measures the test-taker for the particular objective). - Construct validity (if the test samples the outcome behaviour). - Face validity (if the test samples the actual content of what the learner has achieved—or expects to achieve).

Authenticity

Relation between target language use (TLU) or language methodology (structural, communicative, etc..) and the characteristics of the tasks

If the test is authentic: - The language in the test should be as natural as possible. - Items should be contextualized rather than isolated. - Topics should be relevant and meaningful for learners. - Some thematic organization to items should be provided. - Tasks should represent, or closely approximate, real-world tasks.

Assessment

Diego Ulloa Iglesias

Interactiveness

It refers to the extent and type of involvement of the test taker’s individual characteristics in accomplishing a test task. If we ask ourselves: does the test motivate students? Is the language used in the test's questions and instructions appropriate for the students' level? and/or do the test's items represent the language used in the classroom, as well as the target language? then we are trying to find out if interactiveness is achieved.

(These concepts are not mentioned by the author)

Impact

It refers to the Impact at the macro level (society, education system) and micro level (individual).

W A S H B A C K

The author cites some other authors who define It as the effect of testing on teaching and learning (Hughes) or the effect on education practices and beliefs (Cohen). Bachman proposes that one must be prepared to find that is far more complex and thorny than simply the effects mentioned before.

It is the benefit that tests offer to learning. This concept actually refers to the effects the tests have on instruction in terms of how students are prepared for the test; this kind of feedback should “wash back” to them in the form of useful diagnoses of strengths and weaknesses.

Practicality

It refers to the relationship between the resources that will be required in design, development, and use of the test and the resources that will be available for that particular activity. The author classifies the addressed resources into three types: - human resources - material resources, and - time

It depends on financial limitations, time constraints, ease of administration, and scoring & interpretation. An effective test is practical if it: - Is not excessively expensive. - Stays within appropriate time constraints. - Is relatively easy to administer. - Has a scoring/evaluation procedure that is specific and time-efficient.