language testing material

Putu Ngurah

Test appropriateness

1 introduction

Test is device for sampling behavior or performance related to the skill, comprehension, attitude or other characteristic of people.

The appropriateness of instruction based on objective.

No. of correct	No. of  people	No. of  correct	No. of people
0 1 2 3 4 5	5 9 12 7 4 3	6 7 8 9 10	0 0 0 0 0

There are 10 test items. Most students get correct only 2. No one get than half right. If 65% correct, it had been set as passing grade. Then what wrong to the test? Is it too hard? The answer is no we should evaluate the test and need criteria for evaluating the test. The fact is our students do not have information required to answer the question

2. Discussion

2.1. Applying the criteria of good test

The good test has 5 criteria they are: appropriateness, validity, reliability, interpretability, and usability. Before applying the criteria you must assume that you have a willingness to evaluate and to improve your test and consider not only the final result but as a way of evaluating your test

According to carver (1974) he differentiate between psychometric and edumetric test

psychometric	edumetric
To measure individual differences i.e.: aptitude, ability, trait aptitude test predict achievement	To measure the gain or growth of individual i.e.: knowledge skill, achievement test determine how much language can be acquire

2.2. A test should be appropriate.

A good test to measure outcome should be consistent with the objective. That test must measure what we intend to measure and suitable with kind of objective. If test lack of objective it may not be appropriate test. The purpose of the test is to measure the characteristic of students like what they have learned, what they are like, what they like.

2.3. The importance of objective

Appropriateness reflects the content, skill or objective in simple word all material has been learned was covered. Appropriateness is like mapping or matching of what being measured to what is intended to have been learned

Objective reading comprehension skill in narrative text. Give narrative text student can:		Unit of importance
1	Identify the generic structure	V	V	V
2	Recognize the social function of narrative text	V	V
3	Describe the main idea of narrative text	V	V	V	V	V

                                                                                                                                    (Adopted from Tuckman et al., 1978)

Objective reading comprehension skill in narrative text. Given narrative text student can:		Unit of importance					test
		Number of test item					format
		1	2	3	4	5
1	Identify the generic structure	V					unstructured
2	Recognize the social function of narrative text	V	V				unstructured
3	Describe the main idea of narrative text	V	V				unstructured

            (Taken from Susanto, 2010)

V: single test item point of credit on a test item

For this content map are listed three objective in building reading comprehension for 8 grade based on material coverage and have been determined the degree of importance. The importance reflects in test point whether more item or more complex item. You must make the content map before you teach unit in order to you can construct high appropriate test based content map. If you use by someone else published test you can make correspondence between the content outline of the test with your objective. 2 teachers will have difference concept in making content map.

2.4. Applying the appropriateness criterion

You must consider your content map appropriateness. They are the test item itself and the list of objective. Please consider these:

High appropriate

objective	Unit of importance
	1	2	3	4	5
1	V
2	V	-
3	V	V

V: test item that measure a given objective

X: test item that does not measure a given objective

- : given objective for which necessary test item is missing

Low appropriate

objective	Unit of importance
	1	2	3	4	5
1	X
2	V	X
3	-	V

If your tests have no objective you should rewrite them.

2.4.1 Correspondence to intended behavior

            Action verb, condition, and criteria will determine the objective consistency. For instance action verb requires the students to demonstrate something and the test item asked them to identify that test will be inappropriate 

2.4.2 Test item must be demand in term of condition and criteria.

Condition refers to the action or performance must be provided in test item to measure the objective. Criteria refer to the specification of the objective or other word detailed objective.

 

2.5 Domain referencing

The appropriate test depends on the consistency between condition and detailed objective.

   

term	description	example
Response description	Action part of the objective part of criteria	To be able to identify the generic structure of narrative text
Contents limit	Range of the condition given	No complex generic structure the simple must be three orientation, evaluation, and resolution
Item format	The condition part of objective or test type use	One sequence of generic structure per item. Students must show their work and fill in the answer provided
criteria	Detailed how to answer	the answer must be in short sentences shows the generic structure
Test direction	Test guidance	Determine the generic structure of this narrative text the story of The prince and the dragon
Sample of test item	example	Orientation:………………. Evaluation:………………. Resolution:……………….

2.6. What make test inappropriate

            Three tendency teacher make the test is lack of objective

1. never provided suitable instruction on the objective
2. students’ respond by own sets rather than the items
3. the test and students are often on different culture wave length.

2.6.1.Testing what was never taught

            Sometimes the test must be independent from what was taught and students must be able to apply his learning to unfamiliar material this is can be considered as inappropriateness test because the material of test doesn’t cover all have been taught.  Teacher should represent the test for what he teaches.

2.6.2 Response sets

            Students sometimes follow their desire to answer the test question. This called social desirability bias. Most students endorse positive things and reject negative thing. To overcome this, test should not be too superficial and obvious in nature. When students response true, true, true or true, false, true, false this is called acquiescence. A response set happen because too difficult or disinterest.

2.6.3 Culture bias

Test always measure two things: sets of objective and culture function. If the students are in different culture the test may lack appropriateness

3. Conclusions

Test measure what is intended and what intended actually is taught then achievement on the test will tell you the extent to which students have profited by instruction.

					What is taught				What is

 

Bibliography

Tuckman, Bruce W. (1975). Measuring Educational Outcome: Fundamental of testing. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,Inc.

Susanto (2010). Syllabus dan RPP. Surabaya: Unesa University Press.