This document discusses various topics related to language testing, including: 1) The main features of testing, including its impact on students and teachers and role in assessing learning levels. 2) Washback, or the impact tests have on teaching and learning, and debates around whether this impact is positive or negative. 3) Ethics in language testing and the need for fair standards for all test-takers. 4) How testing is a political activity that is used to influence educational policy and curriculum.

1. DIPLOMA COURSE
ASSIGNMENT: TESTING
TUTOR: ANGELICA FLORES
STUDENT: ROBERTO PINEDA
UVA CAMPUS MEXICALI

2. Testing
In this presentation we will decipher the main
features of testing by going through each one of
them. Since many years ago, testing has had a
lot of controversies and an impact on students
and teachers too. It is not only to measure the
teaching-learning level, it is also to assess
ourselves as teachers. To start language testing,
we begin with a research where we have to look
deeply into each area, thereafter we deal with
issues regarding testing.

3. Washback
This term refers to the impact -usually negative- that
tests have on teaching learning. However, some say
that tests are a change and should have positive
washback. Even though this matter has changed in
the last decade, it needs to build effectiveness so the
topic will reflect more interest. One hypothesis is that
tests will have more impact on what teachers teach,
and how teachers teach. Motivation has an important
role for better understanding, so each teacher could
adopt a different methodology according to the
experience and may change the way they teach and
adapt it to the test in this educational system.

4. Ethics in language testing
Fairness is an aspect in ethical behavior, and therefore
testing involves making important judgments, even though
there is a huge need for developing language testing
standards fair to all test-takers. Code of Ethics is a set of
principles with moral philosophy and good professional
conduct where language testers around the world follow
ethical practices concerning this Code.
Politics
Testing is a political activity that functions as an instrument
of educational policy where it often involves innovations to
influence the curriculum to have access to education and a
better job. In many institutions test development has
become very complex; ¨Testing is too important to be left to
testers,¨ not only for teachers, but also for educational
policy makers and politicians.

5. Standards in testing
This word has various meanings, but the most common in
the practice is the procedures to ensure quality work in test
development. These procedures for test construction and
validation are very important in test results; all tests must
meet technical standards.
National tests
This section concerns about that writing tasks should be
more relevant, task-based and authentic. Teachers need
quality training to perform a good practice in assessing.
When tools are available before we start a test, we have
better comprehension, feel more confident and our anxiety
decreases. When teachers and students focus and
organize learning activities, it is more motivating and useful
for the feedback they provide to learners, it is beneficial for
both with positive outcomes.

6. LSP Testing
For this purpose we can say that test content and test
method come from a specific language with two
aspects where scores can be affected by the
students´ background knowledge. The first is about
the authenticity of the tasks, and the second feature is
the interaction between language knowledge and
specific content knowledge. LSP tests have
contributed to our understanding of many issues
related to the testing of the four skills; reading,
writing, speaking and listening, as well as language
assessment that begins with instructions for the test.
By doing so, language for specific contexts can be
measured taking into account language knowledge
and language background, and the use of strategic
competences.

7. Computer-based testing
Nowadays computers are being used for language
testing; not only for delivery, but also for construction,
capture, scoring, results, and analysis. One
advantage is accessibility and fast results. A
disadvantage is that not everybody knows how to use
a computer and has negative attitudes towards them.
However, many computer-based tests include
reading. Computer-based tests require the computer
to rate and score responses of the abilities in the
target language, so new technologies are relevant for
the making of these tests which are not only user-
friendly, but also more compatible with language
pedagogy.

8. Self-assessment
This self-assessment section has been a kind rare for
many years, but now the interest has increased. This
topic encourages the learner to gain confidence,
acquire a view of evaluation in the learning process,
and learn from mistakes. It is also useful to teachers,
providing information on learning strategies. Self-
assessment is very important in the learning process
and students can actively assess themselves in their
own language learning. There has been a huge
progress in this area, but self-assessment is relatively
new, and learners need to be guided and supported in
the use of the instruments.

9. Alternative assessment
Alternative assessment is usually meant as the
procedures less formal than traditional testing and
definitively will reflect outstanding beneficial effects. It
also has some advantages like easy-to-understand
information for pupils and it is more integrative in the
classroom; this type of assessment makes individual
learners feel more confident at the time of answering
a test and the progress will become easy to assess.

10. Assessing young learners
The assessment of young students is an area where
alternative assessment procedures are more
appropriate than formal testing. This kind of
assessment is very old. However, interest in this area
is relatively new and attributed to three factors. First,
second language teaching has increased. Second,
classrooms have become multi-cultural. Third, there
has been an increase regarding teaching and learning
standards in this decade.
In this part of language testing and assessment, we
have seen how tests will be used to find out what the
learners already know and have learned, and to
check if the objectives concerning this issue have
been fully achieved.