LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT TEST TYPES, LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTING, PORTOFOLIOS

Assesement of results and evaluation of the studentsachievements are very important parts of the teaching process and a logical consequence of testing: they aim to give both testers and testees a concrete measure of their results. A test in plain words, is a method of measuring a persons ability or knowledge in a given domain. (Brown H. Douglas, Teaching by Principles, 2001) Tests are important both for the teacher and for the students. Teachers get accurate feedback on the students performances (their progress and difficulties) and on the effiency of their own work. The students, who are made to use their knowledge under pressure, have the opportunity to see how functional their knowledge of the language is; they also get a token of appreciation for their performances. (A. Vizental, Metodica predarii limbii engleze, 2008) The three basic stages in the learning process before, during, and after teaching have given rise to five basic types of tests: Placement tests at the beginning of the learning process; Progress, diagnostic, and achievement tests during it; Proficiency tests after the learning process. The five types of tests coincide with the teachers educational aims at certain moments in the educational cycle. Each test type has its own characteristics and specific requirements and, to get the expected results, the teacher must make sure that the test items included are wellchosen and organized, comprehensive for the material covered, and relevant for the educational aims. Pre-learning testing: placement tests If s/he wants to elaborate an efficient teaching strategy, the teacher who meets a group of students for the first time must assess: the overall language proficiency of the class; the students relative language level. Correct evaluation of the learners potentials will help the teacher to devise a teaching strategy that suits their linguistic level and interests. Knowledge of the students relative level will allow him/her to implement an efficient class management: according to the learners relative place within the class, the teacher can arrange them into groups for group work (e.g. a student who needs help should be placed beside one who can provide it). Placement tests should not result in marks given to the students: they should merely provide the teacher with a guideline for his/her further activity. Placement tests can be 20 minutes long, or they can take up the entire duration of the lesson. They can test grammar and vocabulary exclusively, or may also include reading and even writing tasks. For organizational reasons, teachers rarely include listening in placement
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tests: unless there is a special audio laboratory, listening means simultaneous work and, at this stage, the students may find it difficult to follow the teachers instruction. Other types of tasks can be performed at the students individual pace. Speaking is also avoided, particularly when a large number of students is involved, as testing speech takes time. Nevertheless, even in the absence of listening and speaking tasks, the teacher can get a fairly good image of the students linguistic proficiency. Most placement tests rely exclusively on objectively scored items, organized in sections aimed specifically at one language field (grammar, vocabulary, or reading). Each section is assigned a certain number of points, so that counting of results is easy. The teacher must also decide on the working time allotted for each section: good learners must have enough time to perform the task, yet not too much to begin fretting and exchanging information. (A. Vizental, Strategies of Teaching and Testing, 2003)

While-learning testing The various types of while-learning tests (progress, diagnostic and achievement tests) are closely linked to the curriculum and to classroom learning. Progress and diagnostic tests survey the students advance along the teaching material and give information concerning their short- and, respectively, long-term progress. Achievement tests, on the other hand, are used at the end of a cycle and their role is to inform on the general success or failure of the language course. Consequently, progress and diagnostic tests provide important feedback regarding the effectiveness of the language course: they help the teacher to assess the students strengths and weaknesses, their difficulties and successes; they also point to the deficiencies of the teachers own work. Although progress and diagnostic tests are generally followed by a mark, grading is again not the main issue. The basic feature of progress and diagnostic tests must be their face validity: i.e. teachers need to get accurate data concerning the students and their own achievements. After test, the teacher must analyze the results carefully in order to determine the learners difficulties and the flaws of the educational process. Accordingly, s/he must find remedies and devise efficient strategies for the next stage in the language course. Progress tests Progress tests are efficient for the continuous assessment of the students knowledge. They are small-scale tests meant to check on recent, short-term, learning, i.e. they look back over the teaching material of no more than the last day or week. That is why, they only cover a narrow range of language and information (merely that included in the recent lesson or unit). Typical examples of progress tests are the informal 10-minute quiz at the end of a lesson, or the 20-minute unannounced paper at the beginning of a new class. The former aims to assess the efficiency of the teaching: it shows how well the students understand and how much they remember of the newly taught material shortly after it has been taught. The latter, on the other hand, highlights the students contribution to the process, their individual work and interest in the matter.
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Diagnostic tests Diagnostic tests are, in many ways, similar to progress tests, as they aim to assess the students progress along the curriculum/syllabus, as well as the teachers educational successes and failures. However, unlike the latter, diagnostic tests are larger-scale tests- they look back over a longer stretch of learning (e.g. a unit in the textbook or an entire semester) so that they usually take up the entire duration of the class (50 minutes or even more). Diagnostic tests are usually graded; however, grading should again not be the teachers major aim. What is much more important is that both the teacher and the students should get accurate information concerning their successes and failures. In terms of form and structure, diagnostic tests can be similar to progress tests; however, they are quite different in range and scope. The teacher must remember that diagnostic tests: must be comprehensive: they must cover the entire linguistic material targeted; must follow the textbook and the syllabus both in terms of content and techniques, assessing what was taught and the way it was taught; must assess a wide range of language skills (vocabulary, grammar, receptive, productive, communicative); must be complex: the tasks included must enable the students to give the full measure of their language proficiency; must have good predictive validity, assessing the learners ability to use the language actively, in unexpected linguistic situations. If set at regular intervals and evaluated correctly, diagnostic tests give teachers an accurate picture both of the students progress/flaws, and of the efficiency/deficiencies of their own work. By evaluating the tests results, the teacher will be able to: determine how appropriate his/her methods are to the students personal and group characteristics: a high-fail result must tell the teacher that s/he must change attitude and/or teaching strategy; find remedies, e.g. new strategies or different types of activities. Achievement tests Achievement (or attainment) tests are formal assessment tests set at the end of an important phase in language teaching a school year, a teaching cycle, or the entire language course. They are comprehensive tests that aim to evaluate the students general language proficiency and assess whether they have attained the final course objectives. Achievement tests are complex, large-scale tests that look back over a longish period of language learning, so they must assess a large amount of language and a wide variety of language skills. Consequently, they must follow the curriculum and the textbook closely; at the same time, they must be summative and sample the whole curriculum. Traditional achievement tests focused on the acquisition by the learner of the linguistic and informational content of the textbook. Conversely, modern achievement tests target the learners ability to use the language acquired independently, after and outside the classroom. This focus on real-world applicability brings achievement tests close to proficiency tests.
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Proficiency tests The term proficiency can be defined as a persons current level of language ability, particularly the ability to use his/her knowledge of the language in the real world. Proficiency tests give a general picture of a students knowledge and ability (rather than measure progress). (J. Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, 1987) Generally, though, the notion of proficiency is related to developed language skills, and large-scale proficiency tests are often used to select among people sitting for a school-arship or applying for a job where knowledge of English is required. The role of such proficiency tests is to predict whether the applicant will be able to cope with the requirements of a certain school or profession. Moreover, if there are several applicants for the same position, the test must show who is the most likely candidate to be successful in it. Consequently, apart from their diagnostic function, the selectional function of proficiency tests is very important. Thirdly, the notion of proficiency is strictly linked to the specific field of use. A bankers language is quite different from that of a doctors or a lawyers: the difference results from the context in which the language is used, i.e. the target situation. The content of the proficiency tests must be specific to the domain of use. That is why, occupational tests have been devised. Occupational proficiency tests target specific language and linguistic skills. Their aim is to show whether the applicant possesses or not the language and linguistic skills that should enable him/her to cope with situations characteristic for the target job. For example, mastery of financial vocabulary is essential for economists doctors and nurses need medical vocabulary letter-writing and telephone-conversation skills are required for a secretarial job, etc. Therefore, proficiency tests must sample fully and appropriately the language used in specific situations that is why, they are generally organized specifically, according to the domain of use. Professional bodies, academic institutions, or even companies, may devise or acquire their own proficiency tests. However, most proficiency tests focus on general (not specific) language skills, so that they cover all the relevant language skills. There are also customized proficiency tests, which consist of a standard test and an additional section for the target profession. Portofolios Portofolios are purposeful, organized collections of student work that tell the story of a students effort, progress and achievement in specific areas. Portofolios assessment is a joint process for teacher and student. Considered a form of authentic assessment, it offers an alternative or an addition to traditional methods of grading and high stakes exams. Portfolio assessment gives both teachers and students a controlled space to document, review, and analyze content leaning. At its best, portfolio assessment demands the following: clarity of goals, explicit criteria for evaluation, work samples tied to those goals, student participation in selection of entries, teacher and student involvement in the assessment process, and selfreflections that demonstrate students' metacognitive ability, that is, their understanding of what worked for them in the learning process, what did not, and why. These elements enhance the learning experience and the self-understanding of the student as learner.
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Bibliography Brown, Douglas H. Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach Pedagogy. San Francisco State University: 2001, Longman (2nd edition) to Language

Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. UK, 1987, Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers (3rd edition) Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. UK, 1997, Longman Vizental, Adriana. Strategies of Teaching and Testing. Timisoara, 2003, Orizonturi Universitare Vizental, Adriana. Metodica predarii limbii engleze. Iasi, 2008, Polirom (editia a III-a) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Learning, Teaching. Assesment. Cambridge, UK, 2001, Cambridge University Press