Chapter 1 Assessment Concepts and Issues 1
Assessment and Testing 3
Measurement and Evaluation 4
Assessment and Learning 5
Informal and Formal Assessment 6
Formative and Summative Assessment 7
Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests 8
Types and Purposes of Assessment 9
Achievement Tests 9
Diagnostic Tests 10
Placement Tests 10
Proficiency Tests 11
Aptitude Tests 11
Issues in Language Assessment:Then and Now 12
Behavioral Influences on Language Testing 13
Integrative Approaches 13
Communicative Language Testing 14
Performance-Based Assessment 16
Current"Hot Topics"in Classroom-Based Assessment 16
Multiple Intelligences 17
Traditional and Alternative Assessment 18
Computer-Based Testing 19
Other Current Issues 21
Exercises 22
For Your Further Reading 24
Chapter 2 Principles of Language Assessment 25
Practicality 26
Reliability 27
Student-Related Reliability 28
Rater Reliability 28
Test Administration Reliability 28
Test Reliability 29
Validity 29
Content-Related Evidence 30
Criterion-Related Evidence 32
Construct-Related Evidence 33
Consequential Validity(Impact) 34
Face Validity 35
Authenticity 36
Washback 37
Applying Principles to the Evaluation of Classroom Tests 40
1．Are the test procedures practical? 40
2．Is the test itself reliable? 41
3．Can you ensure rater reliability? 41
4．Does the procedure demonstrate content validity? 42
5．Has the impact of the test been carefully accounted for? 43
6．Is the procedure"biased for best"? 44
7．Are the test tasks as authentic as possible? 44
8．Does the test offer beneficial washback to the learner? 46
Exercises 48
For Your Further Reading 51
Chapter 3 Designing Classroom Language Tests 52
Four Assessment Scenarios 53
Scenario 1:Reading Quiz 54
Scenario 2:Grammar Unit Test 54
Scenario 3:Midterm Essay 54
Scenario 4:Listening/Speaking Final Exam 54
Determining the Purpose of a Test 55
Designing Clear,Unambiguous Objectives 56
Drawing Up Test Specifications 59
Devising Test Items 60
Designing Multiple-Choice Items 67
1．Design each item to measure a single objective. 68
2．State both stem and options as simply and directly as possible. 69
3．Make certain that the intended answer is clearly the only correct one. 70
4．(Optional)Use item indices to accept,discard,or revise items. 70
Administering the Test 78
Scoring,Grading,and Giving Feedback 79
Scoring 79
Grading 79
Giving Feedback 80
Exercises 82
For Your Further Reading 84
Chapter 4 Standards-Based Assessment 85
The Role of Standards in Standardized Tests 86
Standards-Based Education 87
Designing English Language Standards 88
Standards-Based Assessment 90
CASAS and SCANS 92
Teacher Standards 93
The Consequences of Standards-Based and Standardized Testing 94
Test Bias 96
Test-Driven Learning and Teaching 98
Ethical Issues:Critical Language Testing 98
Exercises 100
For Your Further Reading 101
Chapter 5 Standardized Testing 103
Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Tests 104
Developing a Standardized Test 106
1．Determine the purpose and objectives of the test. 107
2．Design test specifications. 108
3．Design,select,and arrange test tasks/items. 110
4．Make appropriate evaluations of different kinds of items. 112
5．Specify scoring procedures and reporting formats. 114
6．Perform ongoing construct validation studies. 117
Standardized Language Proficiency Testing 118
Exercises 120
For Your Further Reading 121
Chapter 6 Beyond Tests:Alternatives in Assessment 122
The Dilemma of Maximizing Both Practicality and Washback 123
Performance-Based Assessment 126
Rubrics 128
Portfolios 130
Journals 134
Conferences and Interviews 139
Observations 141
Self-and Peer-Assessments 144
Types of Self-and Peer-Assessment 145
Guidelines for Self-and Peer-Assessment 151
A Taxonomy of Self-and Peer-Assessment Tasks 153
Exercises 154
For Your Further Reading 155
Chapter 7 Assessing Listening 156
Integration of Skills in Language Assessment 157
Assessing Grammar and Vocabulary 158
Observing the Performance of the Four Skills 159
The Importance of Listening 160
Basic Types of Listening 161
Micro-and Macroskills of Listening 162
Designing Assessment Tasks:Intensive Listening 164
Recognizing Phonological and Morphological Elements 164
Paraphrase Recognition 166
Designing Assessment Tasks:Responsive Listening 167
Designing Assessment Tasks:Selective Listening 167
Listening Cloze 168
Information Transfer 169
Sentence Repetition 172
Designing Assessment Tasks:Extensive Listening 172
Dictation 173
Communicative Stimulus-Response Tasks 175
Authentic Listening Tasks 178
Exercises 181
For Your Furtber Reading 182
Chapter 8 Assessing Speaking 183
Basic Types of Speaking 184
Micro-and Macroskills of Speaking 185
Designing Assessment Tasks:Imitative Speaking 187
Versant 188
Designing Assessment Tasks:Intensive Speaking 189
Directed Response Tasks 189
Read-Aloud Tasks 189
Sentence/Dialogue Completion Tasks and Oral Questionnaires 192
Picture-Cued Tasks 193
Translation(of Limited Stretches of Discourse) 201
Designing Assessment Tasks:Responsive Speaking 201
Question and Answer 201
Giving Instructions and Directions 203
Paraphrasing 203
Test of Spoken English (TSE Test) 205
Designing Assessment Tasks:Interactive Speaking 207
Interview 207
Role Play 214
Discussions and Conversations 215
Games 215
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview(OPI) 216
Designing Assessments:Extensive Speaking 218
Oral Presentations 219
Picture-Cued Storytelling 220
Retelling a Story,News Event 221
Translation(of Extended Prose) 221
Exercises 222
For Your Further Reading 223
Chapter 9 Assessing Reading 224
Genres of Reading 225
Microskills,Macroskills,and Strategies for Reading 227
Types of Reading 228
Designing Assessment Tasks:Perceptive Reading 230
Reading Aloud 230
Written Response 231
Multiple-Choice 231
Picture-Cued Items 231
Designing Assessment Tasks:Selective Reading 234
Multiple Choice(for Form-Focused Criteria) 234
Matching Tasks 237
Editing Tasks 238
Picture-Cued Tasks 239
Gap-Filling Tasks 240
Designing Assessment Tasks:Interactive Reading 241
Cloze Tasks 241
Impromptu Reading Plus Comprehension Questions 244
Short-Answer Tasks 247
Editing(Longer Texts) 247
Scanning 249
Ordering Tasks 249
Information Transfer:Reading Charts,Maps,Graphs,Diagrams 250
Designing Assessment Tasks:Extensive Reading 252
Skimming Tasks 253
Summarizing and Responding 254
Notetaking and Outlining 255
Exercises 256
For Your Further Reading 257
Chapter 10 Assessing Writing 259
Genres of Written Language 260
Types of Writing Performance 261
Micro-and Macroskills of Writing 262
Designing Assessment Tasks:Imitative Writing 263
Tasks in [Hand]Writing Letters,Words,and Punctuation 263
Spelling Tasks and Detecting Phoneme—Grapheme Correspondences 265
Designing Assessment Tasks:Intensive(Controlled)Writing 267
Dictation and Dicto-Comp 267
Grammatical Transformation Tasks 268
Picture-Cued Tasks 268
Vocabulary Assessment Tasks 271
Ordering Tasks 272
Short-Answer and Sentence-Completion Tasks 272
Issues in Assessing Responsive and Extensive Writing 273
Designing Assessment Tasks:Responsive and Extensive Writing 275
Paraphrasing 276
Guided Question and Answer 276
Paragraph Construction Tasks 277
Strategic Options 278
Standardized Tests of Responsive Writing 279
Scoring Methods for Responsive and Extensive Writing 283
Holistic Scoring 283
Primary Trait Scoring 284
Analytic Scoring 284
Beyond Scoring:Responding to Extensive Writing 285
Assessing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing 288
Assessing Later Stages of the Process of Composing 289
Exercises 290
For Your Further Reading 291
Chapter 11 Assessing Grammar and Vocabulary 292
Assessing Grammar 293
Defining Grammatical Knowledge 294
Designing Assessment Tasks:Selected Response 295
Multiple-Choice Tasks 295
Discrimination Tasks 298
Noticing Tasks or Consciousness-Raising Tasks 299
Designing Assessment Tasks:Limited Production 299
Gap-Filling Tasks 299
Short-Answer Tasks 300
Dialogue-Completion Tasks 302
Designing Assessment Tasks:Extended Production 303
Information Gap Tasks 303
Role-Play or Simulation Tasks 304
Assessing Vocabulary 305
The Nature of Vocabulary 306
Defining Lexical Knowledge 307
Some Considerations in Designing Assessment Tasks 310
Designing Assessment Tasks:Receptive Vocabulary 311
Designing Assessment Tasks:Productive Vocabulary 314
Exercises 316
For Your Further Reading 317
Chapter 12 Grading and Student Evaluation 318
The Philosophy of Grading:What Should Grades Reflect? 320
Guidelines for Selecting Grading Criteria 322
Methods for Calculating Grades 322
Teachers'Perceptions of Appropriate Grade Distributions 326
Institutional Expectations and Constraints 328
Cross-Cultural Factors and the Question of Difficulty 329
What Do Letter Grades"Mean"? 331
Calculating Grades 332
Alternatives to Letter Grading 332
Some Principles and Guidelines for Grading and Evaluation 337
Exercises 338
For Your Further Reading 340
Appendix:Commercial Tests 341
Glossary 346
Bibliography 355
Name Index 374
Subject Index 377