Name:

Supriyanti
St. Numb: 28 002
121
Language
Testing
Principles for Designing Effective Classroom Tests
1. Strategies for test-taker
Offer your learners appropriate & useful strategies for taking the test. Test-taker consider
the following before-, during-, and after-test options:
Before The Test
1. Gie students all the infor!ation you can about the test.
". #ncourage students to do a syste!atic reiew of !aterial.
$. Gie the! practice tests or e%ercises, if aailable.
&. 'acilitate for!ation of a study group, if possible.
(. )aution students to get a good night*s rest before the e%a!.
+. ,e!ind students to get to the classroo! early.
-uring The Test
1. .s soon as the test is distributed, tell students to /uickly look oer the whole of it so as
to get a good grasp of its different parts.
". ,e!ind the! to !entally figure out how !uch ti!e they will need for each part.
$. .dise the! to concentrate as carefully as possible.
&. .lert students a few !inutes before the ti!e is oer so that they can proofread their
answers, catch careless errors, and still finish on ti!e.
.fter The Test
1. 0hen you return the test, include feedback on specific things the student did well, what
they did not do well, and if possible, the reasons for such 1udge!ent on your part.
". .dise the students to pay attention when you discuss test results in class.
$. #ncourage /uestions fro! the students about test for!at or 2 and test results, scoring
procedures, etc.
&. .dise students to !ake a plan to pay special attention in the future to points that they
were weak on.
2. Face validity
Name:
Supriyanti
St. Numb: 28 002
121
Language
Testing
3o!eti!es, students don*t know e%actly what is being tested when they tackle a test.
3o!eti!es they feel, for a ariety of reasons, that the test isn*t testing what it is supposed
to test. 'ace alidity !eans that in the students* perception, the test is alid.
Teachers can help foster this perception with
a. . carefully constructed, wellthought- out for!at,
b. . test that is clearly doable within the alloted ti!e li!it,
c. 4te!s that are clear and unco!plicated,
d. -irections that are crystal clear,
e. Task that are fa!iliar and relate to their course work, and
f. . difficulty leel that is appropriate for your students.
3. Authenticity
The tasks the!seles need to be tasks that the students hae practiced and feel
co!fortable with 5i.e. a test is not the ti!e to introduce brand-new tasks, for you won*t
know if student poor perfor!ance is a factor of the task itself or of the language you are
testing6.
4. Washack
0ashback 5beneficial washback6 is the benefit that tests offer to learning. 0hen students
take a test, they should be able, within a reasonably short period of ti!e, to utili7e the
infor!ation about their co!petence that test feedback offers. 'or!al tests !ust be
learning deices through which students can receie a diagnosis of areas of strength &
weakness8 their incorrect answers can beco!e windows of insight about further work8
your pro!pt return of written tests with feedback is funda!ental to intrinsic !otiation.
0ay to enhance washback with:
1. 9roide a generous nu!ber of specific co!!ents on test perfor!ance.
2. -on*t think your 1ob is done by 1ust returning tests with a letter grade or nu!ber score
on the!:
a. They gie absolutely no info of intrinsic interest to students, and
b. They reduce a !ountain of linguistic and cognitie data to an absurd !ini!u!.
Name:
Supriyanti
St. Numb: 28 002
121
Language
Testing
c. .t best, they gie a relatie indication of a 1udge!ent of perfor!ance as co!pared
to others in the class :which fosters co!petitie, not cooperatie, learning.
$. Gie praise for strengths together with constructie criticis! of weaknesses.
&. Gie strategic hints on how a student can i!proe certain ele!ents of perfor!ance.
'inally, washback also i!plies that students can hae access to you to discuss the
feedback and ealuation receied. This is part of an interactie, cooperatie, !otiating
classroo!. .llow students to seek clarification of fu77y issues :een if you are sure of the
grade & know that you will not change it.