1. Reasons for testing students
1.1. Placement tests
1.1.1. They are useful to explore student's knowledge and skills in a certain area to place them in just the right course.
1.2. Progress tests
1.2.1. Professors use this type of tests to measure with accuracy the meaningful learning students have achieved during the ongoing process.
1.3. Achievement tests
1.3.1. These are the final tests at the end of a course, year, etc., that determine whether students have achieved the learning objectives after the whole process.
1.4. Public examinations/ Proficiency tests
1.4.1. This type of tests are freely available to all those who desire to certified their level of expertise in a field, in order to get job or education opportunities.
1.5. Continuous assessment
1.5.1. Thanks to continuous tests, decision-makers in that department are able to assess not only students but also the strategies used to teach and learn.
1.6. Language portfolio
1.6.1. This was created by the Common European Framework of Reference, and it's used mainly to report language learning as attested by students, which help them feel real progress.
2. Good Tests
2.1. Valid
2.1.1. A valid test must have a clear objective and be able to achieve it. The test must allow real assessment according to what has been learnt.
2.2. Reliable
2.2.1. Once the test has been taken, it must give reliable results by means of a clear structure and sequencing that will provide unbaised and accurate results.
2.3. Washback effect
2.3.1. This washback effect is the causal relationship between assessing and teaching. Teaching should include preparation for tests in order for theses to be the most fitting instrument to measure students' learning process.
2.4. Motivation
2.4.1. Tests play a key role in students' motivation. If they fail a test, they will lose motivation and could face rustration. It's not about making easy tests but avoid unnecessary fail-inducing test designs.
3. Designing Tests
3.1. Designing tests is a really difficult task. To make things easier and simple, that are five basic steps to be followed in order to design. First of all, it is necessary to determine how practical our test will be in terms of time to be answered by students as well as created by the professor, and also cost. Second, clear objectives should be set as a form of guidelines for the whole design which aims to achieve them. Third, the test should measure what students have learned. Never assess something that has been shallowly studied, only those things you are sure your students have learned in class. Don't give them any surprise. In addition, you should assign a certain degree of importance to each items on the basis of its difficulty and complexity. And the last but one of the most important steps is to revise and review the test with your colleagues. They will certainly notice something that is not quality appropriate, this ensures the validity thanks to the consensus.
4. Test Types
4.1. Direct Test Item
4.1.1. Multiple choice
4.1.1.1. These are the easiest to answer for students as the correct item is already in the choices. It is also very straightforward to grade.
4.1.2. Cloze/Gap Fill
4.1.2.1. In this kind of item, there is a gap in a sentence that must be filled by students. Professors must make sure only one word fits in the gap in attention to the context.
4.1.3. Transformation
4.1.3.1. This item focuses on language structure and syntactic categories. Students must be able to use language elements with great flexibility in order to prove their knowledge of the language.
4.2. Direct Test Item
4.2.1. Reading and Listening
4.2.1.1. In the case of reading and listening, the best can include both direct and indirect testing. The exercises could range from comprehension to more rhetoric aspects of the oral or written text. Students can even be asked to create novel ideas so that other cognitive skills are engaged and not only automatized schemas.
4.2.2. Writing
4.2.2.1. Testing writing may consist of transactional works as well as derivational texts. Students need to have a great mastery of grammar structures in for the to create a coherent text, as well as a profound knowledge on the logical connection of ideas in order to organize them with cohesion.
4.2.3. Speaking
4.2.3.1. This is the most difficult linguistic skill to test. Spoken language is so malleable and changing that it will be almost impossible to grade by simple perception. There is a wide array of activities such as role-playing and presentations, which need to be greaded with good criteria.