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Title
Mapping the English Test for Senior High School Based on Bloom’s
Taxonomy
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and learning in the classroom. Teachers need to consider the guidelines for
constructing good test. They must look at the criteria of developing test items
which refer to language testing. The most important for teachers is considering
the taxonomy of questions that cover knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Many test items do not match to the criteria
of language testing. In some cases; the items do cover all the taxonomy of
question which proposed by Bloom.
Developing good test items is hard work for every teacher in order to
produce the quality of test items. Regarding to the importance of test items; it
is important to conduct a research on how good the test items are. This
research aims at finding out the types of English test items in the final
semester test for senior high school which are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy
and mapping the types of English test items in the final semester test for senior
high school which are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. The result of this
research informs the teacher on how to map the questions which are based on
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
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D. Review of Related Literature
1) Test
Many definitions of test have been written in many different books.
There are experts define the term test as described in the following section.
1) Brown (2003:3) defines test as a method of measuring a person’s
ability, knowledge or performance in a given domain.
2) Hughes (2003:3) says that testing is the way in which information
about people’s language ability can be gathered.
3) Brown (2004:3) defines test as a method of measuring a person’s
ability, knowledge or performance in a given domain. Meanwhile,
4) Airasia (2008:9) defines test is a formal, systematic procedure for
gathering information. A test is used by teacher to measure the
students’ learning ability.
5) Magno (2003:1) states that the process of assessment and evaluation is
always part and parcel in the teaching and learning process in every
educational institution whether in basic education or in tertiary
education. In other words, test is defined as a process of evaluating
learning objectives.
In general, the test is needed in many purposes but the important reason
learning process is to measure whether or not the learning objectives have been
reached. There are a number of objectives of test, which are described as follows:
a) To motivate the students in learning.
b) Reinforce learning on the part of the students.
c) Means of gaining teaching and learning objectives.
d) Feedback for teacher.
e) Locating learning problem.
f) Help the teachers to identify the students’ strengths and weaknesses.
g) Help teachers plan and conduct future instruction.
h) Guide students toward improving their own performances.
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2) Types of Test
There are five types of language testing that proposed by Brown (2004).
Those types of language testing are language aptitude tests, proficiency tests,
placement tests, diagnostic tests and achievement tests.
1) Language Aptitude Test
A language aptitude test is designed to measure capacity or general ability to
learn a foreign language and ultimate success in that undertaking. Language
aptitude tests are ostensibly designed to apply to the classroom learning of
any language (Brown 2004:43). Examples: number learning, phonetic script,
spelling clues, Words in sentences and Paired associates
2) Proficiency Test
A proficiency test is not limited to any one course, curriculum, or single skill
in the language; rather, it tests overall ability. Proficiency tests have
traditionally consisted of standardized multiple choice items on grammar,
vocabulary, reading comprehension and aural comprehension.
3) Placement Test
Certain proficiency test can act in the role of placement tests, the purpose of
which is to place a student into a particular level or section of a language
curriculum or school.
4) Diagnostic Test
A diagnostic test is designed to diagnose specified aspects of a language. A
test in pronunciation, for example, might diagnose the phonological features
of English that are difficult for learners and should therefore become part of a
curriculum, (Brown 2004:46).
5) Achievement Test
An achievement test is related directly to classroom lessons, units, or even a
total curriculum. Achievement tests are (or should be) limited to particular
material address in a curriculum within a particular time frame and are
offered after a course has focus on the objectives in question.
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3) Principles of Language Test
How good of test should be? How can we say that the test is effective?
These simple questions need serious attention to be answered in order to construct
good test. Brown (2003:19) states that tests must require criteria for testing which
covers practicality, reliability, validity, authenticity and wash back. These five
criteria are discussed in the following sections.
a) Practicality
Practicality in language testing refers to administers, economy and fair.
(Brown 2003:19) states that an effective test is practical. This means that
test is not excessively expensive, stays within appropriate time constraints,
is relatively easy to administer, and has a scoring/evaluation procedure
that is specific and time-efficient.
b) Reliability
A reliable test is consistent and dependable. If you give the same test to
the same student or matched students on two different occasions, the test
should yield similar results.
c) Validity
The most complex criterion of an effective test and arguably the most
important principle is validity, "the extent to which inferences made from
assessment results are appropriate, meaningful, and useful in terms of the
purpose of assessment. This means that validity in language testing refers
to what to test for students.
d) Authenticity
Authenticity is defined as the degree of correspondence of the
characteristics of a given language test task to the features of a target
language task. Brown (2003:28) pointed that in a test, authenticity are
presented in the following ways: the language in the test is as natural as
possible, items are contextualized rather than isolated, topics arc
meaningful (relevant, Interesting) for the learner, sonic thematic
organization to items is provided, such as through a story line or episode
and tasks represent, or closely approximate, real-world tasks.
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e) Wash back
Every type of tests has wash back effect. It occurs when teachers see the
forms of their students are going to have to take and then as a result, start
teaching for the test. Wash back generally refers to the effects the tests
have on instruction in terms of how students prepare for the test (Brown
2003:28).
4) General Guidelines
Developing good quality of test items is necessary for very tester or
teacher to know. Good quality of test items must requires amount of
requirements of language testing. As it is stated in Airasia and Russell,
(2008:156) that item should cover important objectives, bested clearly, and
simply, contain misleading statements, confusing formatting, or excess
verbiage.
This section describes the general guidelines of test items construction
which are applicable to language testing formats. Brown (2005:43-46)
mentions 10 general guidelines for language testing formats which are
explained in the following sections.
1. The item is correctly matched to the purpose and content of item
2. It is only one correct answer
3. The item written is at the level students’ of proficiency
4. The ambiguous terms and statements are avoided
5. Negatives and double negatives been avoided
6. The item avoids giving clues that could be used in answering other items
7. All parts of the item are on the same page
8. It is only one relevant information
9. Race, gender and nationality bias are avoided
10. At least one other colleague looked over the items.
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5) Taxonomy of Questions
The major categories of questions in Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom,
1956) are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation which discussed in the following section.
1. Knowledge
It refers to specific facts; ways and means of dealing with specifics
(conventions, trends and sequences, classifications and categories,
criteria, methodology); universals and abstractions in a field
(principles and generalizations, theories and structures). Knowledge is
(here) defined as the remembering (recalling) of appropriate,
previously learned information. E.g. Defines; describes; enumerates;
identifies; labels; lists; matches; names; reads.
2. Comprehension
Grasping (understanding) the meaning of informational materials. E.g.
classifies; cites; converts; describes; discusses; estimates; explains;
generalizes.
3. Application
The use of previously learned information in new and concrete
situations to solve problems that have single or best answers. E.g.
Acts; administers; articulates; assesses; charts; collects; computes;
constructs.
4. Analysis
The breaking down of informational materials into their component
parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure
of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying
motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to
support generalizations. E.g. breaks down; correlates; diagrams;
differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes.
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5. Synthesis
Creatively or divergently applying prior knowledge and skills to
produce a new or original whole. E.g. adapts; anticipates; categorizes;
collaborates; combines; communicates.
6. Evaluation
Judging the value of material based on personal values/opinions,
resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without real right or
wrong answers. E.g. appraises; compares & contrasts; concludes;
criticizes; critiques; decides.
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reasons or causes, draw conclusions or generalizations, or to support
opinions. Because higher-level productive thinking is involved, students'
responses may not be anticipated.
d) Level IV High Order Divergent
Higher order questions requiring students to perform original and
evaluative thinking. The teacher’s intention is to have students make
predictions, solve lifelike problems, produce original communications, and
judge ideas, information, actions, and aesthetic expressions based on
internal or external criteria. Because this level represents the highest level
of productive thinking, students' responses generally cannot be anticipated.
F. Research Method
This part discusses the methodological aspects of the researcher. It covers
the design of the study, population and sample, instrument, technique of collecting
data, and technique of analysis data.
1) Research Design
The issues which are investigated in this research are analyzing and
mapping the English test for senior high school; therefore this research is
categorized as descriptive qualitative research. Descriptive qualitative research
design is used to solve or answer a problem that is being happened nowadays. The
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research is done by collecting, classifying, analyzing the data and making
conclusion and report. The aim of this design is to describe something objectively.
Descriptive research is intended to make a systematic and accurate description
concerning the facts and the features of research data.
2) Source of Data
The source of data in this research is documentary data. The documentary
data are used as the source of data in this research. Cohen (2007: 201) said that
there are copious documentary sources of data in research and are helpful for the
researcher, a range of considerations has to be brought to bear on their use.
Furthermore, Prior (2003) in Cohen 2007:201) stated that documents are useful in
rendering more visible the phenomena under study. There are some examples of
documents namely field notes, journal, newspaper, records, biographies,
timetables, technical documents, students’ work sheets, memos, reports,
correspondents, plans, advertisements, prospectuses, archives, stories,
photographs, conversation, speech, policy documents, primary and secondary
sources, books and articles (Cohen 2007:201).
3) Instrument
The instrument is important to be is used in the research. The instrument
of this research is English Test Sheet. The English test which are used by the
English teachers for final semester test in senior high schools.
4) Technique of Collecting Data
In collecting the data about test item, the researchers apply the following
steps.
a) Identifying
In identifying process, the researchers identify the English test sheets
which are used for final semester test in senior high school.
b) Asking Permission
In this part; the researchers ask permission to the headmaster and English
teacher to their English test sheet as the instrument of research.
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c) Selecting
In selecting part, the researchers select the English test sheets which are
used in the final semester test for senior high schools.
e) Documenting
In documenting part, the researchers document the English test sheets
which are used in the final semester test for senior high schools.
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G. Jadwal Pelaksanaan Penelitian
Pelaksanaan penelitian ini dilaksanakan selama 4 bulan dengan 5 tahap
yaitu persiapan, penelitian, olah data, seminar hasil dan pembuatan laporan.
Berikut adalah table pelaksanaan penelitian.
Tabel 1
Jadwal Pelaksanaan Penelitian
H. Personalia Penelitian
Personalia penelitian in terdiri dari 2 orang dosen program studi
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Data dapat dilihat pada tabel di bawah ini.
Tabel 2
Personalia Penelitian
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I. Biaya yang Diperlukan
Jumlah biaya yang dibutuhkan dalam penelitian ini adalah Rp. 7.500.000
(Tujuh Juta Lima Ratus Ribu Rupiah) dengan perincian sebagai berikut:
Table 3
Biaya yang Diperlukan
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Bibliography
Araisa, W. P. & Russel, K. M. 2008. Classroom Assessment: Concept and
Application. McGraw-Hill Companies: Singapore
Cohen, L. at. el. 2007. Research Methods in Education. Sixth Edition. Routledge:
London-New York.
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Stevens, D. D. & Levi, A. 2005. Introduction to Rubrics. Stylus Publishing, LLC:
Canada
Tofade, et. ell. 2013. Best Practice Strategies for Effective Use of Questions as a
Teaching Tool. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2013; 77
(7) Article 155.
Wilen, W. W. 1991. Questioning Skills, for Teachers. What Research Says to the
Teacher. Third Edition. National Education Association: Washington
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SURAT PERNYATAAN
KETUA PENYUSUL
Dr. Paulus Klau Tahuk, S.Pt., M.P Imanuel Kamlasi, S.Pd., M.Pd.
NIP 197209012005011002 NIP 198111272014041001
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Biodata Ketua
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Biodata Anggota
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