7. stages on test development & specification table

5/19/2018 7. Stages on Test Development & Specification Table

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Level: B1 (Intermediate)

Syllabus: New English File

To define the topics that will be tested in the exam,

we used stratified sampling. We consider the

communicative use of language as the most

important thing for students. The units chosen from

the syllabus involve familiar vocabulary of everyday

use that can help students to give personal opinions.This will help them to reinforce the knowledge they

have about the language.

Stratified sampling test: This content waschosen because it is clearly related to each

other. The main topics shown in each unit

are really important in order to developefficient communicative skills


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Objectives

1. Students will be able to distinguish the use of future forms talking

about personal future plans in a written form, for example a

letter.

2. Students will be able to recognize each member of a family and

select the correct person depending on their oral description.

3. Students will be able to categorize members of the family in texts

and use relative pronouns to answer when a question is givenabout it.

4. Students will be able to understand and use certain modal verbs

to make speculations about people in everyday conversations;

they will also be able to identify them in texts.

5. Students will be able to describe people in an oral form, using

adjectives for physical appearance and also to talk about mood

of people.


3/12

Leve: B2

Syllabus: Straightforward Upper Intermediate

Students BookObjectives:

Achievement Test

- Alternative Approach

Ss will be able to produce fluently descriptions

and narrations about past events in a written

way using appropriate vocabulary.

Ss will be able to understand, identify, andexpress opinions about social, and academic

topics.

Ss will be able to understand the main idea of

some articles, letters, etc.


4/12

Objectives:

Writing: Student will be able to describe their last

vacations in an informal way, using past tenses,time linkers and words related to travel vocabulary.

Grammar: Student will comprehend the meaning of

certain phrasal verbs, recognize when and how to

use past tenses and will make a correct use of thequantifiers both and neither.

Reading and listening: Student will understand a

text/audio related to travel, which includes past

tenses, and time likers; therefore, the student will

be able to answer questions related to thattext/audio.

Speaking: Student will be able to talk about a past

experience, using past tenses, time linkers, phrasal

verbs and travel vocabulary.


5/12

Stating theproblem

What kind of test is it to be?

What is the purpose?

What abilities are to be tested?

How important is backwash?

Writingspecifications

for the test

Content

Structure, timing, medium/channel and techniques

Scoring procedures

Writing andmoderating

items

Writing

Moderating


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Frequently there is both a real and perceived mismatch between the

content examined in class and the material assessed on at end of

chapter/unit test. This lack of coherence leads to a test that fails to

provide evidence from which teachers can make valid judgmentsabout studentsprogress (Brookhart, 1999).

One strategy teachers can use to mitigate this problem is to

develop a Table of Specifications (TOS), sometimes also called

blueprints.

When constructing a test, teachers need to be concerned that the

test measures an adequate sampling of the class content at the

cognitive level that the material was taught.

The TOS can help teachers map the amount of class time spent oneach objective with the cognitive level at which each objective was

taught thereby helping teachers to identify the types of items they

need to include on their tests.


7/12

Tabla de especificaciones

1. Utilidad de la tabla de especificaciones

La tabla de especificaciones relaciona los objetivos con el contenido

y establece la importancia relativa que se proporcionar a cada una

de las diversas reas. El propsito de la tabla es indicar si el examen

es adecuado para medir de manera balanceada los resultados de

aprendizaje y el contenido del curso; es decir, sirve como plano para

el docente, pues especifica la naturaleza de cada reactivo.

Si el examen se ha preparado cuidadosamente, su eficacia

depender de la habilidad del docente para elaborar reactivos que

pongan de manifiesto la conducta especfica descrita en losobjetivos de aprendizaje.

2. 2. Metodologa

La preparacin de una tabla de especificaciones incluye:

Los temas del curso.

El peso de estos temas en el examen. Los objetivos especficos del tema.

La cantidad de reactivos.

El peso de los reactivos.

El tipo de reactivo.

El nivel de pensamiento. El nmero del reactivo en el examen.


8/12

TABLE OF SPECIFICATIONS

SKILL TOPICTEST TASK SPECIFICATIONS COGNITIVE

DOMAIN(Blooms category)

General

description of the task

% from

the testTYPE # ofitems

# of

marks

TIMING 1 2 3 4 5 6


9/12

Test specifications can take many formats, following the plan of

Mislevy, Almond and Lukas (2003):

Item/task specifications: describe the prompts that are designed to

elicit evidence upon which inferences are made about the targetedabilities of the learners.

Evidence specification: What kind of response is expected and

how the response is to be scored.

Test assembly specification: how many items are required for each

category. The test assembly specification therefore plays a critical

role in showing that the number and range of items in any form of

the test adequately represent the key features of the criterion

situation in the real world.

Presentation specifications.

Delivery specification: test security and timing.


10/12

Any realization of the specifications is a test

form

A test form means that it is generated from a test

specification; one reason for having test specifications is

to try to ensure that each form looks roughly the same

because it is made up of the same item types, with the

same number of items, representing the same set ofconstructs in each section. It is also designed to try to

make sure that each form is of the same difficulty.

A critical feature of test forms therefore, is that they areparallel; there is no change between them.

However, when we talk about a version of a test, we

imply that it has changed. (Fulcher, 2010;129)


11/12

One of the most important contributions of criterion-referenced

measurement to testing practice was the central focus it placed on

describing the intended outcomes of instructions that is, the

objectives. Requiring teachers/test developers to describe

clearly the knowledge and skills to be tested provides theframework needed to write valid test items, to evaluate item-

objective congruence, and to enhance the quality of test score

interpretations. (Hambleton, 1994:23)

Item-objective congruence

It refers to the relationship between the item or the task and the

learning objective that it is designed to test.

The point made is that specifications make us think, as teachers, very

carefully about what it is we think the object of a learning activity is.

The specification forces the language test designer to be explicit

about the reason for the use of item and what it is the item intended totest.


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The specification can be a focal point for teacher

collaboration in defining what it is that is being taught and

learned. Teachers can use the specifications to createmultiple tasks in teams that can be used in delivering a

spiral curriculum that offers multiple opportunities for

learning

Target Language Use (TLU) by Bachman and Palmer (1996)

This approach involves describing the item/task according to

features that exist in the target language use situation across

a number of categories:

- Test environment (place, equipment, personnel, etc)

- Test rubric (organization, time instructions)

- Input language

- Expected response

- Relationship between input and response

7. stages on test development & specification table

Documents

student willbe able

kind of test

stratified sampling

test content structure

past tenses

travel vocabulary

correct use of thequantifiers

time linkers