Chapter-Four-Test-Specification

ChapterFourTestSpecification1.Whataretestspecifications?2.Specificationandsyllabus3.Whatshouldatestspecificationcontain?Eg.SpecificationsforthereadingTest3.1Definition•Atest’sspecificationsprovidetheofficialstatementaboutwhatthetesttestsandhowittestsit.Thespecificationsaretheblueprinttobefollowedbythetestanditemwriters,andtheyarealsoessentialintheestablishmentofthetest’sconstructvalidity.3.2Specificationandsyllabus•Atestspecificationisadetaileddocument,forinternaluseonly,whichisoftenusedbytestdevelopersandpeoplewhoevaluatewhetheratesthasmetitsaim.•Asyllabusisapublicdocument,oftenmuchsimplified,whichisindicatedmoretoteachersandstudentswhowishtoprepareforthetest,topeoplewhoneedtomakedecisionsonthebasisoftestscoresandtopublisherswhowishtoproducematerialsrelatedtothetest.3.3Whoneedstestspecifications?Andwhy?Testspecificationsareneededbyarangeofdifferentpeople:•neededbythosewhoproducethetestitself•Neededbythoseresponsiblefororinterestedinestablishingthetest’svalidity(thatis,whetherthetesttestswhatitissupposedtotest)3.3Whoneedstestspecifications?•NeededbytestusersTestusersneeddescriptionsofatest’scontent,anddifferentsortsofusersmayneedsomewhatdifferentdescriptions.Forexample,teacherswhowillberesponsibleforthelearnersplacedintheirclassesbyatestneedtoknowwhatthetestscoresmean:whattheparticularlearnersknew,whattheycando,whattheyneedtolearn.Teacherswhowishtoentertheirstudentsforsomepublicexaminationneedtoknowwhichtestwillbemostappropriatefortheirlearnerinrelationtothecoursethattheyhavebeenfollowing.3.3Whoneedstestspecifications?•NeededbypublishersFinally,testspecificationsareavaluablesourceofinformationforpublisherswishingtoproducetextbooksrelatedtothetest:textbookwriterswillensurethatthepracticeinbookstheyproduceareofanappropriatelevelofdifficulty,withappropriatecontent,topics,tasksandsoon.Alltheseusersoftestspecificationsmayhavedifferingneeds,andwritersofspecificationsneedtobeartheaudienceinmindwhenproducingtheirspecifications.Whatissuitableforanaudiencemaybequiteunsuitableforanother.3.4Whatshouldatestspecificationcontain?•Althoughdifferentgroupsofpeopleneeddifferentkindsoftestspecifications,herewepresentageneraltestspecificationforaninstance.Contentsoftestspecifications•1.Testpurpose•2.Theoreticalconstructandoperations•3.Testtakers•4.Testcontent•5.Testmethod•6.Testtasksandtexttypes•7.Testorganizationsandweighting•8.Timeduration•9.Scoringcriterion•10.Testadministration•11.Testdevelopmentchart