Spanish Assessment Smackdown

What are two of the 5 important aspects of objectives? Hint, look at p. 22 Genesee and Upshur 1. CO’s = general 2. CO’s = single domain of language learning 3. CO’s should not overlap, 4. CO’s should refer to student performance not teacher performance 5. CO’s should refer to products of language learning or processes of language performance.

What are the three M’s of central tendency and how are each defined? Mean, i.e. average of each score Mode, most frequently occurring Median, ‘middle’ score

Get out a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Calculate by hand the three M’s for the following scores. StudentScore Arnaldina5 Amanda7 Airikah8 Arnulfo9 Wakovia9

Get out a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Calculate by hand the three M’s for the following scores. StudentScore Arnaldina5 Amanda7 Airikah8 Arnulfo9 Wakovia9 Mean7.6 Median8 Mode9

What does a standard deviation tell us? The typical distance of a score from the mean. (Hughes, p. 26)

Find a sweet definition of washback or backwash in one of your texts. P. 53 Hughes, “Backwash is the effect that tests have on teaching or learning.”

What does a facility value provide information about? Specific items on a test (Hughes, 225)

In language testing we often discuss the term validity. Define validity. When a test measures what it intends to measure. (hughes p. 26)

What does a cloze test supposedly measure? Overall language ability (Hughes p. 187 last line first paragraph)

What is one simple way to calculate a facility value? Number correct divided by the number of students

What are two ways that Hughes in chapter 6 suggests for achieving beneficial backwash? Test the abilities you want to develop Sample widely and unpredictably Use Direct Testing Make testing Criterion-referenced Base Achievement tests on objectives Ensure test is known and understood by teachers

What are two benefits of a short-answer item? items easier to write than mult. Choice Guessing less of an issue Cheating more difficult (Hughes, 79)

What are three of the steps of test development? Hughes (p.59 and beyond)

What is one advantage and one disadvantage of using multiple choice items in language testing? (Hughes 79)

What are three common kinds of or purposes for portfolio assessment? Showcase, Documentation, Evaluation (MM, p ???)

Define Holistic v. Analytic scoring. Holistic (Hughes p.94) = Assigning a single score to a piece of work, writing, speaking etc. Analytic (Hughes p. 100) = Assigning separate scores for various components of a task.

What are two kinds of validity that are relevant in language testing, and what do they mean? Content, Criterion, Construct (Hughes, 26)

What is reliability? When a test measures something consistently. (Hughes, 3)

Name and explain two kinds of threats to the reliability of a test. Genesee Upshur (p. 60 table at bottom of page) Person-related, Assessor-Related, Instrument-Related.

Which of the following types of tests describe the test in this setting. Students have taken a test after joining the Marines. It is used to tell the drill sergeant what percentage of students scored below a given recruit. _________ 1. Norm-referenced 2. Subjective 3. Criterion-referenced 4. Achievement 5. Proficiency 6. Objective 7. Placement

Good Job Team…..?????