测试与评估

Name 高祺(20) NO. 201312000220

1.Explaining the following terms.

(1)reliability

It is concerned with stability and consistency of testing. It refers to whether the test achieves what is expected to be measured.

(2)Validity

Validity means a test is said to be valid if it measures accurately which it is intended to measure. The test actually measures the ability of knowledge.

(3)norm-referenced testing

A representative group of students is given the test prior to its availability to the public. The scores of the students who take the test after publication are then compared to those of the norm group. It usually implies standardization through prior administration to a large sample of exams.

(4)criterion-referenced testing

It assesses achievement or performance against a cut-off score that is determined as a reflection of mastery or attainment of specified objectives or evaluates individual performance in terms of some predetermined criterion for success at performing some behavior with some result under certain condition and judged by certain standards.

(5)summative assessment

It is a kind of testing which is administered after a period time of learning. It is designed to determine if the instructional goals have been achieved and to produce a measure to sum up students’ achievement.

(6)formative assessment

It is a kind of assessment used to help students’ level in the learning process which is of evaluating and judging the students’ performance and using the feedback to improve the students’ next performance.

(7)bloom et al.’ taxonomy

It is a system Bloom and his associates have developed a system for helping teachers to get a better understanding about the kinds of learning types that they want their students to show. They refer to their classification schemes as taxonomies of educational objectives, which initially covered cognitive learning objectives, and later publications

focused on the affective and psychomotor areas.

(8)aptitude test

It is designed to measure capacity or potential, whether it is capacity to succeed with an academic program, to learn a foreign language, to acquire a specific vocation, or some other capability.

(9)diagnostic test

Diagnostic test is used to identify information about the specific strengths and weaknesses of the test taker. It is designed to guide remedial instruction.

(10)backwash effect

It’s the reflection of teaching and testing. It can be defined as the direct or indirect effect of testing on teaching and learning. Backwash can be harmful and beneficial.

My Understanding of Testing and Assessment

This term we have a class called testing and assessment. The opening of this class is beneficial for us professional graduate education. As this is a core course geared to the higher education postgraduate students. We can obtain much knowledge about testing and assessment so that we can gather experience for further work.

Testing is a method of knowing students’ level for teachers and take measures to solve students’ proble ms and weakness. Testing is certainly not the only way to assess students, but there are many good reasons for including a test in your language course.

First, a test can give the teacher valuable information about where the students are in their learning and can affect what the teacher will cover next. They will help a teacher to decide if her teaching has been effective and help to highlight what needs to be reviewed. Testing can be as much an assessment of the teaching as the learning. Tests can give students a sense of accomplishment as well as information about what they know and what they need to review. Second, tests can also have a positive effect in that they encourage students to review material covered on the course. Last but not least, tests are also a learning opportunity after they have been taken. The feedback after a test can be invaluable in helping a student to understand something she couldn't do during the test. Thus the test is a review in itself.

The role of assessment in education has been crucial. Assessment in teaching and learning here refers to the process of obtaining information that is used to make educational decisions about students, to give feedback to the student about his or her progress, strengths, and weakness. Assessment is viewed as an integral part of the teaching-learning process. It involves collecting evidence of learning over a period of time, using a variety of assessment methods.

There are many different methods about assessments: summative assessment, formative assessment, portfolio assessment… portfolio assessment is one of the types. A portfolio is a systematic, purposeful, and meaningful collection of students’ work and is a tool which demonstrates a students’ learning progression over time. A students’ portfolio may incorporate many forms of evaluation:personal information and interest, student checklists, peer evaluation, work samples,parent feedback, self-evaluation,

self-reflections, goal setting…Portfolio assessment is an ongoing process that includes the student and teacher in selecting samples of student work for inclusion in a collection. It provides teachers the opportunity to incorporate these various elements of the assessment process.

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. Either the teachers or students will learn about the condition of teaching and learning according to the ongoing feedback. So they both can make changes. It mainly focuses on what the students understand about the course materials. So it provides a chance for students to get a better understanding about what they have learned.

Overall , I think that all methods have strengths and limitations that tests have an important function for both students and teachers.I don't think that tests should be the only criteria for assessment, but that they are one of many tools that we can use. I feel that choosing a combination of methods of assessment is the fairest and most logical approach.