Comparing Why, Honey? and Shopping for one

Although the teacher is primarily concerned with teaching rather than testing, classroom tests play three important roles in the second-language program: they define course objectives, they stimulate student progress, and they evaluate class achievement.

Students, particularly older ones, are quick to observe the types of tests given and to study accordingly. Thus, much as the teacher may emphasize oral fluency in the classroom, if all the tests are written tests the students will soon concentrate on perfecting the skills of reading and writing. If the teacher explains to the students that the course is intended to teach them how to manipulate the language with near-native fluency and then persists in giving tests composed of translations and declension tables, the students will continually refer to traditional grammatical terms and English equivalents.

Therefore, in a very real way the classroom tests define the short-range course objectives of the teacher. If beginning students are expected to develop primarily the skills of listening and speaking tests must be given in proportion to the relative importance of that objective.

As much as possible, the time given over to classroom testing should provide a rewarding experience. The test should furnish an opportunity for the students to show how well they can handle specific elements of the target language; gone are the days when the teacher designed a test to point up the students’ ignorance or lack of application.

Tests should be distinctly announced in advance to permit the students to prepare adequately.

If the students themselves are expected to demonstrate their abilities, it is only proper that they should learn as soon as possible after the test how well they did. The test best fulfills its function as a part of the learning process if correct performance is immediately confirmed and errors are pointed out.

The aim of the language course is the development of communication skills. Communication is a meaningful activity, and the test items should, as much as possible, be presented in a meaningful situational context. Sentences that switch from one language to another in mid-stream and groups of items in which the topic changes from sentence to sentence are to be avoided. The language test is difficult enough without placing additional comprehension obstacles in the students’ path.

Trough frequent testing, the teacher can determine which aspects of the program are presenting difficulties for individual students and for the class as a whole. By analyzing the mistakes made on a given test, the teacher can determine where to concentrate extra class drill and how best to assist each student.

At the same time, testing enables the teacher to discover whether the class objectives are being met. Through tests the teacher can evaluate the effectiveness of a new teaching method, of a different approach to a difficult pattern, or of new materials.

The most familiar role of the classroom test is to furnish an objective evaluation of each student’s progress: his or her attainment of course objectives and his or her performance in relation to that of the rest of the class.

According to Rebeca Valette there are four types of language tests: aptitude tests, progress tests, achievement tests, and proficiency tests.

The aptitude test is conceived as a prognostic measure that indicates whether a student is likely to learn a second language readily. It is generally given before the begins language study, and may be used to select students for a language course or to place students in sections appropriate to their ability.

The progress test measures how much the student has learned in a specific course of instruction. The test that the classroom teacher prepares for administration at the end of a unit or end of a semester are progress tests. Their format reflects the various components of the curriculum.

The achievement test is similar to the progress test in that it measures how much the student has learned in the course of second-language instruction. However, achievement tests are usually not built around one set of teaching materials but are designed for use with students from a variety of different schools and programs.

The proficiency test also measures what students have learned, but the aim of the proficiency