Different Types of Test

Rodriguez Pintle Eric

Different Types of Tests

Proficiency Test: It is used to measure the level of a person in a determined language. This kind of test is not based on any previous course, only on what the person already knows.

I.e. Placemment test (Examen de acomodación)

Achievement test: These types of tests are related languages courses, and it is divided into two categories:

·         Progress achievement: This test measures the progress of the students according to pre-established objectives

·         Final achievement: A final test that shows what the students have learned

I.e. A final exam of the 5^th level Italian course

Diagnostic test: It is basically used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the students in the use of a language.

I.e. The test that is applied at the beginning of a course to evaluate previous knowledge

Placement test: This test is useful when a school have to classify the students’ different levels of a language, it divide them separated groups, and in each group the level of a language profiency is basically the same.

I.e. The placement test used in UABC Centro de Idiomas

Direct vs. indirect testing:  Direct testing is when we actually ask students hoping for an specific answer in order to evaluate a certain skill, while indirect testing try to measure the abilities behind a skill.

I.e. Questioner to direct measure knowledge. Reading report could be used to evaluate comprehension skills (indirect testing).

Discrete point vs. integrative testing: Discrete is about testing each skill, but not a combination of them, just one by one. And integrative is when a combination of skills is evaluated.

I.e. Recorded conversation to measure listening skills (Discrete), and a dialogue to measure fluency, vocabulary, and pronunciation (Integrative)

Norm-reference vs. criterion-reference testing: The first one compares the performance one student with other student’s performance. The second one is used to determine if a person is able to perform a determined task and how he/she is going to do it.

I.e. Regular knowledge exams (Norm-reference). An informal assessment plan can be used for criterion, because the teacher can determine if the group is ready to do certain activity.

Objective vs. subjective testing:  Objective refers to specific information, like in activities of filling the gaps, true or false, or matching columns, because the responses are limited to specific answers. In the other hand, subjective is a task where the point of view of the student can be expressed, and there is place to different answeres.

I.e. Objective: Filling the gaps exercise. Subjective: a reflection about what students have learned in the course.

Computer adaptive testing: In this kind of tests the principal tool is the computer, which will measure the time, quality, and some other aspects when doing an exam.

I.e. Psychometric test of UABC

Communicative language testing: What a teacher use every day to evaluate the continuous progress of the students when learning a language.

I.e. Any test to evaluate our students’ performance.