Items

1. Items Grocery Store? Couples? No, language testing

2. Test Development • State testing “problem” fully and clearly. • Write specifications for the test. • Write and moderate items. • Trial items informally w/native speakers and make changes. • Trial the test on a group of non-natives similar to target group. • Analyze results and make necessary changes. • Calibrate scales. • Validate. • Write handbook for test takers, users and staff. • Train any necessary staff, iviewers, raters etc. What’s the problem for classroom teachers??? How could we save time and still do a good job?

3. Where is the validation? How could we examine reliability? Some ideas. . . • -Refer back to your objectives that you wrote as you started to plan your instruction. • -Make a brief list of the knowledge and skills you need to assess. • -Write the test based on the two items above. Include how you will score it and create any rubrics that may be necessary. • -Evaluate, read the test over yourself, • -Evaluate, ask a colleague to look it over, • -Evaluate, give to similar students even just portions of it. • -Make changes based on input. • -Give the test. • Revise based on results

4. Test Items • What’s an item? • How do you say “item” in Spanish? • You don’t, probably pregunta, or ítemes

5. Test Items • Two main types of ítemes: • Closed-ended and Open-ended • What are the basic kinds of closed-ended items? • Multiple choice • Yes/No or True/False • Matching – subset of Mult. Choice • Closed-ended generally good for?

6. Test Items • What are the basic forms of open-ended items? • Essay questions • Write a two page paper on . . . • “Hands on” tasks • Create an objective. . . • Imagine. . . • Opened-ended generally good for?

7. Test Items, Closed-Ended • Multiple Choice • Good or bad example: • Cuandoyo ____ lasllaves no me lasqueríadar. • A. pido • B. pidió • C. pedí • Probably good, depending on level.

8. Test Items, Closed-Ended • Multiple Choice Advantages • Reliable scoring • Seen as objective • Ease of scoring • Lots of questions short time • Infrequent testing of large groups • Multiple Choice Disadvantages • Limit what you can test • Only recognition • Guessing • Hard to write • Cheating

9. Testin, Open-ended • Turn to p. 182 table1 • Skim them for 19.3 seconds • Which point(s) stand out to you as most important?

10. Testing, Open-ended • Suppose you are teaching Spanish 101 • One of your objectives is that, students will be able to use the present tense to explain their daily schedule. • Is this appropriate as the last question of a 40 question test in the testing lab? • Write about your daily routine: • What does it lack? • With a partner try to rewrite this

11. Testing – Short Answer • Example: • ¿Quésignifica “lo” en la ultimaoración? • ¿Quéedadtenía el niño en estecuento? • Yo _______ comer tacos. • Problems??? • What are some advantages and disadvantages of short answer questions? • Harder to guess • Easier to write • Can take longer for students • More subjective scoring

12. Short Answer • Try some. • Do you see any problems?

13. Put it all together • 3 groups of two • Look at the pages marked in the text • Write a teaching objective related to the material. • Then try to write three short answer/fill in the gap questions. • One multiple choice question • An essay question