TEFL Assessment and Testing in EFL 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the difference between 'formative' and 'summative' assessment in EFL?
- Formative assesses the teacher; summative assesses the student
- Formative is ongoing assessment to inform teaching during learning; summative is end-of-term assessment to measure achievement (Correct answer)
- Formative uses written tests; summative uses oral tests
- Formative is graded; summative is ungraded
Correct answer: Formative is ongoing assessment to inform teaching during learning; summative is end-of-term assessment to measure achievement
Formative assessment (quizzes, observation, feedback) shapes instruction during learning, while summative assessment (final exams, proficiency tests) evaluates overall achievement.
Question 2: What does 'validity' mean in the context of language testing?
- The test is consistent and produces similar scores if taken again
- The test measures what it claims to measure (Correct answer)
- The test is fair to all cultural backgrounds
- The test can be marked quickly
Correct answer: The test measures what it claims to measure
A valid test genuinely assesses the skill or knowledge it is intended to measure — a speaking test must test speaking, not just vocabulary recall.
Question 3: What does 'reliability' mean in language assessment?
- The test measures the intended skill accurately
- The test produces consistent results under similar conditions and across different markers (Correct answer)
- The test covers all language areas equally
- The test has clear, understandable instructions
Correct answer: The test produces consistent results under similar conditions and across different markers
A reliable test gives stable scores — the same student should score similarly if retested, and different markers should give similar grades.
Question 4: What is a 'placement test' used for in an EFL context?
- To measure student progress during a course
- To assign students to appropriate level groups at the start of a program (Correct answer)
- To certify language proficiency for employers
- To diagnose specific language weaknesses
Correct answer: To assign students to appropriate level groups at the start of a program
Placement tests determine which class level best suits incoming students so instruction matches their current proficiency.
Question 5: What is a 'diagnostic test' designed to do?
- Rank students from best to worst
- Identify specific areas of language weakness so teaching can target those gaps (Correct answer)
- Certify students at the end of a course
- Place students in level groups
Correct answer: Identify specific areas of language weakness so teaching can target those gaps
Diagnostic tests pinpoint particular language problems (e.g., difficulty with articles, verb patterns) so teachers can address them directly.
Question 6: What is 'washback' (or backwash) in language testing?
- The process of giving test results to students
- The influence that a test has on the curriculum and teaching practices that prepare for it (Correct answer)
- Re-taking a failed test
- Returning marked papers to students
Correct answer: The influence that a test has on the curriculum and teaching practices that prepare for it
Washback describes how high-stakes tests shape (and sometimes distort) what and how teachers teach — ideally, tests should have positive washback.
TEFL Assessment and Testing in EFL 1
What is the difference between 'formative' and 'summative' assessment in EFL?