e test is the test teachers use to check on the progress of their students , to see how far they have mastered what they should have learned and use this information to modify their future teaching plans, such as informal tests or quizzes.
宁波大学硕士研究生2008/ 2009学年第 2 学期期末考试答题纸
考试科目：英语测试理论与实践课程编号：07G06329A
姓名：卢晓娜学号：G08B05020130阅卷教师：李奕成绩：
1.Define the following terms in your own words
1)Testing
Testingwhich is often used for pedagogical purposes, isa procedure designed to elicit certain behavior fromwhich one can make inferences about certain characteristics of an individual.
2) Assessment
Assessmentcollectsinformationofstudents’ learning for various purposes and using various techniques.
3) Evaluation
Evaluationapplies thesystematicways togather information for thepurpose of making decisions.
8）criterion-referenced tests
Criterion-referenced tests are designed to enable the test user to interpret a test score with reference to a criterion level of ability or domain of content.
4) Measurement
Measurement is the process of quantifying the characteristics of persons according to explicit procedures and rules.
5) Reliability
Reliability is a quality of testscores, anda perfectly reliable scorewould be one which is free from errors of measurement.
6) Validity
Validityis an important quality of testinterpretation, whichconcerns the extent to which the inferences or decisions we make on the basis of test scores are meaningful,appropriateand useful.
10)Summativetest
Summativetest is used at the end of the term, semester or year in order to measure what has been achieved both by groups and by individuals.
2．Discussion questions (Answer each question in no less than 200 words.)
1) How can we improve the test reliability?
In order to develop the test reliability, we have to minimize the effects of measurement errors and to maximize the effects of the language abilities we want to measure. There are two kinds ofreliability:test reliabilityand scorer reliability.And three categories affect test and scorereliability: 1) test method facets;2) attributes of the test taker that are not considered part of the language abilities we want to measure;3) random factors that are largely unpredictable and temporary. The result of the effects of all these factors is that whenever individuals take a language test, they are not all likely to perform equally well, and so their scores vary. Because different factors affect different individual, the testers should use different methods of testing according to the different individuals. And we should use different approached to estimating the reliability of thetests.We can also apply thetest-retest and split-halftest to investigate thereliabilityin order tofurtherimprove it.
7)Norm-referenced tests
Norm-referenced tests are designed to enable the test user to make the interpretations of test results with reference to the performance of a given group or norm.