UNIT 4: Online

assessment
instruments

Names: Natalia Gonzlez A.

Mario Gmez T.

Online Instrument to assess Grammar

Website: http://www.cengage.com/us/
Test:
http://www.cengage.com/devenglish/discipline_content/grammarquizzes.html
(Combining sentences using subordination, self-test 1)
Description: This website offers a wide range of resources and instruments for
assessing. To have access to an article you must pay but they also provide
students and teachers with practice tests and self-assessment quizzes, which
are divided by categories according to different aspects of grammar; for each
aspect of Grammar (for example, combining sentences using subordination)
there are between 3 and 5 different tests.
The instrument we are using is to assess subordination. It consists of a multiple
choice item with 15 questions. At the end of the test the website shows how
many and which questions you answered correctly and incorrectly, as well as
the time spent answering the test. A full report of this can also be sent to the
test-takers personal e-mail account.
Choice support: We chose this instrument because, unlike most of the other
instruments we came across, the tests are divided by topics, and not just
focused on general grammar; which makes it more relevant depending on the
area of grammar that we are interested in assessing. If we are teaching a
specific unit of grammar, we can find a quiz on that specific unit.

Usefulness analysis: The usefulness analysis of this instrument will be based

on Bachman & Palmers principles.
a) Reliability: Bachman & Palmer (1996) describe reliability as consistency
of measurement, or in other words, a test that will have consistent
results across different testing and scoring situations. Under this
definition, the test that I chose is highly reliable, as it is based on
multiple choice questions; for each question there are two options and
only one of them is correct, there is no room for ambiguity or use of
different assessing criteria by different scorers.
b) Construct validity: According to Bachman & Palmer (1996), construct
validity is the extent to which valid conclusions can be drawn from the
results of a test. Regarding this definition, we cannot assume that this
test has high validity, because of its multiple choice nature, which does
not show real evidence of knowledge and a correct answer could
sometimes be a result of many factors that are unrelated to the ability
tested.
c) Authenticity: Bachman & Palmer (1996) say that an authentic test is a
test that has tasks that represent situations of language use in real life.

A multiple choice language test is not very authentic if, for example, we
are assessing communication skills. In the case of grammar, this kind of
test is not very authentic either. A more appropriate way of assessing
grammar would be in context, which makes the learning more
meaningful.
d) Interactiveness: In the case of this test, interactiveness is quite low,
since a multiple choice test does not require test-takers to show a lot of
evidence of their language abilities, or their knowledge of a certain topic,
other than choosing an alternative. There are strategies to approach
multiple-choice tests, but their degree of complexity is not as high as
other task types.
e) Impact: As this is defined as the impact that the results of a test have
on an individual or institution Bachman & Palmer (1996), this test has
no impact beyond the self-assessment that students will have after
taking this test and receiving their results. The consequences that this
test has on the individuals will depend on the context where the test is
applied, and the relevance that it will have for the course that the
learners are taking and the purpose the teachers want to give to it.
f) Practicality: Knowing that practicality refers to the resources used and
the implementation of the test, this test is very practical, as it is applied
online, which means that there is no need for a human rater, it does not
require a physical space other than the availability of a computer with
internet access (assuming that the setting of the test is a university or
school class being held in a computer lab), and in terms of time it does
not take much time to administer and to be completed by the learners.

Online Instrument to assess Vocabulary

Website: http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com
Test:
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/vocabulary-idiomsmake1.html
Description: This website provides students with different types of exercises
to assess and practice vocabulary. The lists of exercises are divided in: topic,
idioms, visual exercises and other. In addition, every quiz shows what English
level is to be assessed.

To set an example of how this instrument assesses vocabulary, we chose the

exercise linked above about idioms using to make. This instrument is for
assessing students with an intermediate or advanced English level. The way to
proceed is very easy, the student just has to write in the blanks the letter that
best completes each sentence. Thus, each sentence has the meaning of each
idiom written in parenthesis in a very accurate way so the student will not
make a mistake due to ambiguity in the test. Also, at the end of the test there
is the possibility to check it or see the answer key.

Choice support: We chose this instrument because it contains variety in

several aspects, such as the amount of topics to choose from, the number of
tests for each topic, the type of item (fill-in the blanks, multiple choice, and
also some visual-aided exercises). The tests are not only divided by topics, but
some of them also focus on idioms, and on business specific language. Another
aspect that was considered relevant when choosing this instrument is that
every test is designed for a specific level of proficiency, which makes it suitable
for basically every student that is interested in improving their vocabulary and
test their own progress.
Usefulness analysis: The usefulness analysis of this instrument will be based
on Bachman & Palmers principles.
a) Reliability: This test is highly reliable, as for the different types of items
there is always one correct answer to each question, so there is no
subjectivity in the correction, which also allows for instant correction
without requiring a human rater. All the types of item provide
alternatives to the questions which can be clearly identified.
b) Construct Validity: Since this is an online test, all the features that
make it reliable affect its construct validity; because a matching
exercise, in this case, does not necessarily demand production of
knowledge evidence apart from choosing a correct alternative, which
sometimes can be a product of choosing randomly just to complete the
test.
c) Authenticity: Because of the nature of an online test, authenticity is
limited, a matching exercise does not really represent a real life situation

of language use; it just serves the purpose of straight-forward

vocabulary testing. A more authentic way to assess vocabulary would be
a test type that demands oral or written production, so that the
vocabulary can be used in a context.
d) Interactiveness: Interactiveness is also limited in the case of a
matching type of item, because of the way these tests are administered
and the low level of production that is involved, which does not go
beyond choosing the correct term for each sentence. This means that
the degree of complexity of most online tests does not allow for high
levels of interactiveness.
e) Regarding to impact and practicality the analysis of these principles
will be the same in the case of this instrument, as the definitions we
point out before are the same for any online resource for assessing.

References & links

Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing
and developing useful language tests (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
Cengage Learning, Inc. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.cengage.com/us/
Online
grammar
quizzes.
(2015).
Retrieved
from
http://www.cengage.com/devenglish/discipline_content/grammarquizzes.html
LearnEnglishFeelGood.com
(2006-2012.
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com

Retrieved

Vocabulary
test
section.
(2006-2012).
Retrieved
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/vocabulary-idiomsmake1.html

from
from

Roever, Carsten. (2001). Language Learning & Technology Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 8494.
University
of
Hawai'i
at
Manoa.
Retrieved
from
http://llt.msu.edu/vol5num2/roever/default.html