This document provides test specifications for an achievement test on a unit in an English textbook. The test will examine students' reading and writing skills related to vacation activities and places. It will consist of a 20-minute reading section and a 40-minute writing section. The test is designed for 20 Egyptian EFL learners who have completed four prior levels of general English study focusing on reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The students' course is at a pre-intermediate level and meets twice a week for 2 months to help students communicate in everyday English situations. The test will evaluate students' abilities to define words, understand meanings, express ideas, identify methods, and distinguish facts from opinions.
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MA Assessment Course, CU
1st
Assignment: Test Specifications
Sawsan Fawzy
Test Specifications
Test Description
Purpose of the test: An achievement test on Unit 5 entitled “Going Places,” in Interchange Book 2 published by Cambridge University
Press
Language skills to be tested: The test examines students’ achievement in reading and writing skills
Target language situations: The test examines the skills of reading and writing about vacation activities and places.
Number of test sections and time for each section: A reading section (20 minutes) and a writing section (40 minutes)
Test-takers Description
Makeup of the students: This table of specifications is designed for a class made up of 20 EFL learners studying at Scientific Center for
Consultations and Development, a language center. They are male and female Egyptian adults in their twenties and thirties who have not
been exposed to English except at public schools. None of them has been abroad before. Most of the learners are college students. Few
learners have full-time jobs.
Entry behavior expected of the students: All the students have completed four levels before moving to this one: they have started from a
beginner level and completed another beginner one, an elementary one and a pre-intermediate one.
Course Description
Ability level of the course: This level is a pre-intermediate one. It is the fifth general English level according to the Scientific Center for
Consultations and Development. It is basically a general English course that has an integrated multi-skill syllabus that covers the language
skills of reading, listening, writing, speaking, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The primary goal of the course is to teach
communicative competence, i.e., to help students use English in everyday life situations for authentic communication.
Number of class sessions and length of class time: The class meets twice a week for 2 months; the course is of 16 sessions; each one is
of 120 minutes. At the end of the course, the students will be tested to determine whether they will move to the sixth level.
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Table of Specifications: Reading and Writing
General Objectives
% of content
A. Knowledge B. Comprehension C. Application
Students
- define basic words related to the topic and
- know methods and procedures
Students
- understand contextual meanings of words and
- distinguish between facts and opinions
Students produce,
organize and express
ideas
I. Vacation activities
and places
I A (25%) I C (75%)
II. Clothing, packing
and safety
II A (25%) II B (75%)
III. Facts and opinions
about vacations
III B (100%)
Code Behavioral Objectives
I A Given a reading passage on a familiar topic and a matching exercise, the students will match basic words related to the topic to their correct
definitions
I C Asked to write a short school magazine article on a vacation activity that the student has done and his/her relevant tips on it, the students will
express their personal vacation experiences
II A Given a reading passage and a short-answer question, the students will identify key methods
II B Given a reading passage and MCQs, the students will interpret the correct contextual meanings of words
III B Given a reading passage and an F/O exercise, the students will distinguish between facts and opinions