EVALUATING WITH TESTS

First of all, at the moment of designing test with its respective tasks, a number of factors must be taken into account.  The first factor is instructional objectives, which is related to the process of choosing tasks that are to be focused on the same kind of language skills, which are supposed to be described in the objectives. Two kinds of tasks emerge: open-ended tasks and closed-ended tasks. In the case of instructional objectives, closed-ended tasks may permit the examiner to assess precise language skills. On the contrary, open-ended tasks may give kind of carte blanche to the students, so that they respond using ways that are very different from the ones intended by the examiner.

 As stated by the author when we referred about making open-ended test tasks, examiners need to keep in mind that this kind of test tasks don’t control the precise way the specific response is made by the test taker. However, they must have certain structure for the tests to be scored. Open-ended test tasks have the advantage consisting on the reflection of the way authentic language is used. They are characterized by the fact that they are easy to device but time consuming to score. Open-ended task tests must take in to account the feasibility in terms of task topic, task difficulty and the time allotted to perform the task.

In contrast, closed-ended test tasks are the facts that they are focused on comprehension skills and appear to be particularly appropriate for beginners, though they are also used for advance students. They have multiple choice and matching as possible test tasks, letting in this way, which the answer can be measured by the examiner. Closed-ended test tasks offer advantages in terms of time and grade of difficulty, also requiring considerably time and preparation. After having analyzed these aspects of choosing and devising test tasks, it can be concluded that, there are several forms in testing, but one form is not necessarily suitable for all circumstances and purposes. Examiners must look for the one that well fits the objectives that require to be evaluated.