TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EVALUATION AND TESTING

May Sulfira Syam Nur Putri Yanti Sri Ratna Sapta Ningsih Ahmad Rahangiar

Trends in Language Testing and Evaluation Practice

The current and future trends projected are: 1. authentic assessment 2. achievement measures 3. test standardization 4. test property: validity, reliability, discrimination, difficulty, test usefulness, test practicality 5. use of innovations and information technology for language testing 6. testing 7. factors of proficiency 8. self-assessment 9. product evaluation 10. process evaluation

11. informal evaluation 12. input evaluation 13. program evaluation 14. material evaluation 15. quality assessment 16. proficiency measures 17. productive skill testing 18. receptive skill testing 19. summative testing 20. use of the Internet for assessment purposes

21. teachers, assessors and evaluators should learn to use IT effectively in language testing and teaching 22. use of computerized adaptive tests (CAT) 23. English language testing content should be in the real context of use in addition to being interesting, contemporary and suitable for the testees' age and maturity level 24. continuous and intermittent assessment of maximal ability, i.e., language learning achievement, progress, proficiency, etc. 25. continuous checking on learners' typical performance, i.e., their attitude, self-perception, learning strategies, study skills, etc. 26. authentic assessment with consideration for classroom culture and self-assessment 27. related issues included: learner variables, influence of test method, teacher variables, quality control, quality assessment, quality assurance, quality accreditation, and objective-based evaluation

Problems and Concerns of Language Testing and Assessment

The respondents stated that 1. how to make tests reliable and valid 2. how to assess learners' communicative proficiency accurately 3. how to make classroom testing fun 4. how to evaluate learner oral skills accurately 5. language teachers' lack of skills and knowledge about language testing, measurement and evaluation has led to unreliable and inaccurate testing 6. mismatch between teaching syllabus and testing syllabus has led to irrelevant curriculum and evaluation 7. errors accrued from testing of language proficiency have chained effects creating a vicious cycle causing the decline in educational quality 8. problems of over-emphases on quantitative assessment have led to disregard for qualitative assessment. 9. impact of testing on the learners should be constructive and positive 10. learners' oral skills should be assessed accurately using both authentic and formal methods

11. learners' communicative proficiency should be assessed accurately 12. inappropriate styles of ELT in need of updating 13. integrative skills vs. single-skill tests 14. balanced attention should be given to both quantitative and qualitative assessment and evaluation 15. relationships between assessment and the workplace uses of test results to be firmly established 16. reliable grading of written tests 17. tests and measures for accurate language assessment and evaluation 18. teachers' lack of testing and evaluation skills to reliably and validly 19. assess students' learning progress

Related issues: In most countries in the region, quantity of education is most crucial but in other the stress is now on quality. But it may be important to add that wherever possible quantity and quality can try to go together. Costs and supplies of qualified teachers are the greatest obstacles to the development of quality education in the region today. Governments introduce new language programs at younger and younger ages, without real consideration of the quality (experience and professionalism) of the teachers or the materials they make available for language learning. How re-skill teachers to take on such enormous tasks is a real problem. Also, what support systems will be in place curriculum, materials, class size and so on. We cannot compromise quality for quantity.

The Topics for Language Testing Research

Following topics for language testing research were suggested by the respondents: 1. testing of English for international communication 2. CAT and test-item banking 3. chat room conversational analysis and its impact on language learning 4. discourse analysis of cyberspace language, especially chat room language 5. influence of test methods on test results 6. relationships between learners' test-taking strategies and test results 7. relationships between test tasks and test results 8. the role of self-assessment in language learning improvement 9. confidentiality of language testing via the cyberspace 10. quality control

11. quality assessment 12. quality accreditation 13. quality assurance 14. continuous test item analyses for developing a test-item-bank for standardized test items 15. specification of language use parameters within various social context and for various purposes, e.g., English for specific purposes, general English, English for further studies, English for entertainment, English for everyday use, English use of cyberspace 16. teachers' needs for assistance in grading test papers 17. reliability and validity of authentic and formal assessment instruments 18. uses of integrative skill vs. single skill assessment 19. summative and formative testing 20. use of test for selecting school personnel should be comprehensive to obtain well-rounded information about a person

21. development of test-item banks for various language domains. 22. classroom-based assessment and evaluation.

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