Testing, assessing, and teaching can be done through various methods. A test is a method to measure abilities, knowledge, or performance in a domain. Tests must be explicit, structured methods of measurement, such as multiple choice questions or writing prompts with rubrics. There are different types of assessments, including informal assessments without standard criteria, formal assessments designed to appraise skills and knowledge, formative assessments used throughout a course to aid learning, and summative assessments used at the end to assign grades in an evaluative way. Language testing has evolved from focusing on specific elements to more integrative and communicative approaches, and now performance-based assessments are used to simulate real-world tasks. Current issues include exploring different types of intelligence

2. Testing,Assessing, and Teaching

3. What is a Test?
A test, in simple terms, is a method of measuring a person, ability, knowledge, or performance in a given
domain.
Definition of aTest
Test is first a method. It is an instrument a set of techniques, procedures, or items that requires
performance on the part of the test-taker. To qualify as a test, the method
must be explicit and structured: multiple-choice questions with prescribed correct answers; a writing
prompt with scoring rubric an oral interview based on a question.
Second, a test must measure. Some tests measure general ability, while others focus on very specific
competencies or objectives.
TESTING

4. Assessment is a popular term in educational practice. Some people think that
testing and assessing is synonymous. Even the definition of test in Wikipedia
indicates that both terms are synonymous. (A test or examination is an assessment
intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or
classification in many other topics (e.g.,beliefs). But test and assessment is not
really synonymous; they have differences.

5. Types of Assessments :
1. Informal Assessment
An informal assessment is spontaneous. It is a method of evaluation where the
instructor tests participants' knowledge using no standard criteria or rubric. This means
that there is no spelled-out evaluation guide. Rather, the instructor simply asks open-
ended questions and observes students' performances to determine how much they
know.
Example of informal assessment include quizzes, writing samples, and project-based
assignments.

6. 2. Formal Assessment
Formal assessments are exercises or procedures specifically designed
to appraise the student achievement, using the skills and knowledge
taught.
Examples of formal assessment include tests, surveys, and questionnaires.

7. 3. Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is generally carried out throughout a
course or project. Formative assessment, also referred to as
"educative assessment," is used to aid learning.

8. 4. Summative Assessment
Summative assessment is generally carried out at the end of
a course or project. In an educational setting, summative
assessments are typically used to assign students a course
grade. Summative assessments are evaluative.

9. 5. Norm-referenced
Norm-referenced is a type of test that assesses the test
taker’s ability and performance against other test takers. It
could also include a group of test takers against another group
of test takers. This is done to differentiate high and low
achievers.

10. 6. Criterion-Reference
Criterion-Reference is a type of test that assesses the test
taker’s ability to understand a set curriculum. In this test, a
curriculum is set in the beginning of the class, which is then
explained by the instructor. At the end of the lesson, the test is
used to determine how much did the test taker understand.

11. 1950s → an era of behaviorism and constructive analysis,
testing focused on specific language elements such as the
phonological, grammatical and lexical contrasts between
two languages.
1970s & 1980s →communicative language theories
brought a more integrative view of testing.
1983 tell → Today, test designers are challenged in their
quest for more authentic, valid instruments that stimulate
real world interaction.
APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TESTING : A BRIEF HISTORY

12. 1. Discrete-point tests
Discrete-point tests are constructed on the assumption that language can
be broken down into its component parts and that those parts can be
tested successfully. These components are the skills of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing, and various units of language (discrete points) of
phonology/graphology, morphology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse.

13. 2. Integrative tests:
Two types of tests have been claimed to be examples of integrative tests: (P.
8 & 9)
1. Cloze test: is a reading passage (150 to 300 words) in which roughly every
sixth or seventh word has been deleted; the test-takers are required to supply
words that fit into those blanks.
2. Dictation: is a familiar language teaching technique that evolved into a testing
technique. Learners listen to a passage of 100 to 150 words read aloud by the
teacher and write what they hear, using correct spelling.

14. 3) Communicative language testing:
Argue that integrative tests like cloze only tests learner’s
linguistic competence, and they don’t tell us about the learner’s
performance ability.

15. 4. Performance-based Assessment
Performance-based assessment of language typically involves oral production,
written production, open-ended responses, integrated performance (across skill areas),
group performance, and other interactive tasks. To be sure, such assessment is time-
consuming and therefore expensive, but those extra efforts are paying off in the form of
more direct testing because students are assessed as they perform actual or simulated
real-world tasks.

16. Current issues in classroom testing
1. New ways in Intelligence:
Intelligence: was once viewed as only the ability to perform linguistic and logical-
mathematical problem solving.
*Gardner (1983,1999) included five “frames of mind” in his theory of multiple
intelligences.
1) logical-Mathematical 2) Linguistic
3) Visual-Spatial 4) bodily-kinesthetic
5) Interpersonal 6) Intrapersonal
7) Musical

17. 2. Traditional and Alternative Assessment
Traditional assessment is the kind of test that common used by most
teachers like multiple-choice and usually with paper- pencil based,.
The alternative assessment is another way to create the test to gather
information of students.

18. 3.Computer- Based Testing
In such tests the test-taker performs responses on a computer. Almost all
computer- based test items have fixed, closed-ended responses like the test of
English as a foreign language (TOEFL).
Example : Students receive prompts in the form of spoken or written stimuli
from the computerized test and are required to type (or in some cases, speak)
their responses.

19. THANK YOU ..