THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST
INTRODUCTION
Nowaday, english language become general language because many people around the world master the language, in Indonesia itself english language become popular and its people infected by English language, however we can not evade that english language is very needed today. English language commonly mastered to fulfill the national curriculum or may be the international communication especially when having bussiness, and education sharing.
"Language Testing is the practice and study of evaluating the proficiency of an individual in using a particular language effectively." (Priscilla Allen), from the statement above we can take the pointy that language testing is a particular evaluation about practice and study about using a language effectively. Doing the language testing is to asses the accurateness after conducting the learning process. From other resource Carol Chapelle and Geoff Brindley stated that In the context of language teaching and learning, 'assessment' refers to the act of collecting information and making judgments about a language learner's knowledge of a language and ability to use it. From Carol we can know that language testing is to collect the information about the ability that the learner got from the language learning process wether the knowledge or the ability.
About diagnostic test, diagnostic test is defined as the test that done to discover the ability of the learners’ ability before conducting the learning process, so the teacher can know and get the information how far students know and master the language, So when conducting the learining process the teacher can give what really needed by students, and also the learning process will be effective because it will not run from the direction.
DISCUSSION
1. Diagnostic Test
a. Definition of diagnostic test
Diagnostic assessments (also known as pre-assessments) provide instructors with information about student's prior knowledge and misconceptions before beginning a learning activity. They also provide a baseline for understanding how much learning has taken place after the learning activity is completed. Instructors usually build concepts sequentially throughout a course.
The primary characteristic of a diagnostic (foreign) language test is that it identifies a test-taker’s specific linguistic strengths and weaknesses (Alderson, 2005; Bachman & Palmer, 1996).
This can be contrasted with proficiency and placement tests, which often label a test-taker with a general level of language ability (e.g., low, intermediate, or advanced) and/or match a test-taker with an appropriate language course (perhaps based on a general level, or on a level in a general skill area like speaking), but do not provide meaningful feedback to the test-taker or test-giver about particular aspects of language that need further improvement (for example, that the test-taker is weak in particular grammar points like past tenses or adjective clauses, or in particular listening or reading sub-skills like listening for main idea, reading for specific information, or drawing inferences). It is this provision of meaningful feedback to test-takers about their language abilities that is the most important and useful aspect of diagnostic testing, and also perhaps its most challenging aspect in terms of test construction.
Diagnostic language tests can also be contrasted with achievement tests, even though both types deal with specific linguistic strengths and weaknesses. An achievement test usually occurs during or at the end of a course, and often deals only with aspects of language ability that are covered in the course. A diagnostic test, on the other hand, may serve as a useful complement to a course but can occur independently of a course and is not limited by that course’s content in terms of coverage. One distinct advantage of this is that diagnostic tests are thus well-suited for aiding the self-assessment of language ability, helping learners who perhaps are not currently enrolled in a language course to focus their self-study upon particular areas of weakness.
In what so far seems to be the only in-depth book on diagnostic language testing, Alderson (2005) points out that while the idea of diagnosing foreign language ability has often been mentioned in the testing literature, there are very few truly diagnostic tests in existence. The primary, if not only, instance of such a test is DIALANG, a diagnostic test sponsored by the European Commission (which Alderson and his colleagues have been working on since the mid to late 1990s, and which forms the basis for his aforementioned book).
This brief overview is meant to highlight both the importance and relative newness of diagnostic language testing. In the next sections, we give a synopsis of one diagnostic test construction project currently underway at a Taiwan university.
2. Purpose of Diagnostic test
a. Diagnostics identify strengths and weaknesses in a learner’s knowledge or use of language
Normally, the ability to use particular language forms implies knowledge of the forms, but not necessarily vice versa. For example, if someone consistently uses tense and aspect morphology correctly, you would expect him to perform well on a discrete-point grammar test that emphasized those forms. However, there are other students who might respond correctly to multiple-choice questions based on their knowledge of these forms, but these same students might fail to use these forms appropriately while writing essays or in giving oral presentations. So, if students do poorly on a “performance” test (in a “presentational” mode), you might want to give a paper-and-pencil test to find out if they even have concept awareness of the forms they are failing to produce appropriately. If they lack that knowledge, then you could consider some sort of explicit instruction. However, if they demonstrate knowledge of the forms when quizzed, but fail to employ these forms appropriately in using the language, then you could design authentic activities (e.g, writing email messages or leaving phone messages) for demonstration and practice of the forms in contexts in which the meaning was (hopefully) clear.
b. Diagnostics have a focus on weaknesses that leads to remediation in further instruction
In a sense, diagnostic testing begins where proficiency testing ends. That is, if students perform poorly in attempting to use the target language, you would want to diagnose the reason for the poor performance. Did they lack knowledge of the relevant vocabulary? Did they lack the appropriate modals? Were they unable to correctly pronounce certain sounds, words or groups of words? Sometimes you can get this information from a sample of a student’s writing or speaking. Sometimes you only get hints from such samples and need to design quizzes that target the grammatical or lexical aspects that you suspect are problematic. In doing so, you will have to make judgments regarding what forms are really problematic and important, and keep in mind what things you are prepared to teach. Since this is an individualized approach, you will have to make a judgment regarding how much time you would have to address the issues that you diagnose for all of the students in your class. You can’t fix everything for everybody, but you can sometimes identify a few areas that are causing major problems for a particular student, and you can often find important language aspects that most, or all, of your students are having problems with. Put another way, you can’t test everything, and so you will have to be selective. One way to select material for diagnostic testing early in the semester is to sample what’s covered in various chapters of the text. Another approach, if you feel that material is already ordered from least to most complex in the text, is to sample mainly from the middle or end of the text in preparing diagnostic assessments. Then you can administer similar assessments at the end of the course to see if your remediation was indeed successful.
c. Diagnostics enable detailed analysis and a report of responses to items or tasks
If you want to conclude that a particular grammatical aspect is a weakness, then you need to be sure to include several examples of that grammatical point in your diagnostic. If you are using four-option multiple-choice format, you need to keep in mind that a person has a one-in-four chance of simply guessing the right answer. Furthermore, you typically will want to test the same point in different contexts. A classic example would be a “voiced consonant” (e.g., b, d or g as opposed to p, t or k), which some students appear to have no trouble with in word initial position, or between two vowels, yet consistently miss in word final position.
Based on your own language training, you will often be able to discover patterns, but you will need to communicate these patterns (areas that need attention) to your students in the form of a report. Ideally you would go over this report in a one-on-one conference, but that of course is not always possible.
d. Diagnostics provide feedback that can be acted upon
You have to have a plan, a list of actions that you and your students can take to address a particular problem once diagnosed. For example, if it’s a pronunciation problem, you could send them to the lab to do practice exercises that include the sounds in question. extra exercises for homework that target the areas of weakness, or even allow the students to do homework assignments tailored to their needs instead of doing all of the generic homework assignments. Part of being selective in reporting feedback (you can’t report everything) is to focus on things that you know how to address.
e. Diagnostics are based on content covered in instruction—or content soon-to-be covered
This is simple. At the beginning of the course, it will be based on “content soonto- be covered.” After that, it could be either recently covered or soon-to-be covered— diagnosis can be an ongoing feature of the course. In principle, content for diagnostics could also be based on theory, but second language acquisition scholars are still working on that!
f. Diagnostics are less likely to be “authentic” then are proficiency tests; more likely to be discrete-point, focused on specific elements
Language use in proficiency tests should be as authentic as possible, but once you attempt to find out “why” a particular performance is weak, you pretty much have to look at language forms. For this reason, many people think of diagnostic assessment as something that is more useful for lower levels than for advanced learners
3. Ways in which diagnostic assessment can be used
1. Internationally, there is emphasis on initial testing at pre-school stages | |
2. This approach provides a baseline for future assessment | |
3. It can be used by a school or education authority to track progress, to evaluate the curriculum and to measure value-added factors | |
Testing can be administered centrally with the following advantages: |
· there is enhanced consistency
· there is a good level of standardization
· there is opportunity for gaining information about the whole institution
· everyone is on a “level playing field”
1. It can be administered within the school with the following advantages: |
· the school is more likely to feel a sense of ownership
· there may be an increased sense of relevance
· it is easier logistically
Some advice warns against using test data to label pupils | |
a. However, data may be used to help pupils identify targets within curriculum assessment structures - though data should be used sensitively | |
b. As a teacher evaluates test data, there may be implications for class organization and composition, organization within the classroom and deployment of staff | |
c. When a teacher has taken account of test data and amended teaching as appropriate, it is necessary to have a mechanism for tracking progress over a period of time | |
d. Such tracking of progress should take place from year to year and as pupils transfer from teacher to teacher |
4. Diagnostic Test Techniques a. Boxing – On a large piece of paper, students draw a box in the centre and a smaller box inside the first box. In the outside box, answer ‘what do I know?’, in the inside box, answer ‘what do I want to learn?’. Now in the outside box, write ‘what else do I know?’ and ‘how does it fit?’ In the inside box, draw a visual representation to explain the topic. Finally, in the middle of the box, look at all the information and summarize ‘what does that say?’ b. Graffiti Wall – with colorful markers and large poster paper, have all students creatively design a Graffiti Wall of things they know about a specific topic of study. Students are then encouraged to add to the wall throughout the unit as they gain new knowledge. A colorful way to display what they know and what they have learned. |
c. Yes/No Cards – Students make a card with Yes (or Got It) on one side, No (No clue) on the opposite side. Teachers ask an introductory or review question. Students who know the answer hold up the Yes card, if they don’t know the answer they hold the No card. This is very effective to use when introducing vocabulary words that students need as a knowledge base for a specific unit of study.
d. SA/A/D/SD – Students are given to opportunity to formulate their own views and opinions along a continuum rather than dialectically. Given an issue (similar to those outlined above) students are asked to consider the topic and determine whether they strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (d), or strongly disagree (SD) with the statement. They are then asked to move to the appropriate station in the classroom identified with one of the options. A class discussion follows as students are given the opportunity to outline and defend their positions, refute the arguments of others as well as re-evaluate their own ideas.
e. Squaring Off – Place a card in each corner of the room with the following phrases: Dirt Road, Paved Road, Highway and Yellow Brick Road. Instruct the students to go to the corner of the room that matches where they are in the new unit of study. Students go to the corner of the room and as a group, discuss what they know about the topic.
f. Turn & Talk- During a lesson, there may be opportunities to have the students do a turn & talk activity for a few minutes. This allows students to talk about the information presented or shared and to clarify thoughts or questions. This is an effective alternate strategy to asking questions to the whole group and having the same students responding. All students have a chance to talk in a non-threatening situation for a short period of time.
Conclusion
Come to the conclusion, we can conclude that diagnostic is used to assess student’s weakness and strength before the learning process begun. Further, diagnostic will be focus on what area student should be improved and what area student has mastered. Diagnostic test differs from summative and formative test, where diagnostic is done before students take a course and diagnostic also help teacher to design syllabus with one primary purpose is to ease student and teacher face the learning process.
Type of diagnostic test
Follow is example of diagnostic test
1. He’s …… doctor of law
a. An b. the c. a d. one
2. …… she like chocolates?
a. Does b. has c. is d. do
3. The student’s…….papers
a. Writing b. writes c. is writes
4. ………bag is that ?
a. What b. Who’s c. Whose d. Which
5. ……tell her professor next time
a. She does b. She c. She’ll d. She’s
6. He……to see his mother yesterday
a. Went b. goes c. has gone d.has been
7. He ….very hard now
a. Works b. has been working c. is working d. work
8. They have….beautiful books.
a. Any b. all c. some d. lots
9. She ….for fifteen years and still likes the job.
a. Works b. is working c. has been working d. worked
10. …….up! or we’ll be late.
a. You hurry b. Be hurrying c. Hurry d. hurry you
Guide to test
Question
1. Articles
2. Short answer
3. Present simple
4. Wh question
5. Future I
6. Past simple I
7. Present progressive
8. Some/ any
9. Present perfect
10. Imperative
References
Reed, Daniel. (2006). CLEAR News: Diagnostic Assessment in Language Teaching and Learning.
Morle,Jhon.(2001). QUESTION TYPES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE DIAGNOSTIC TESTING.
Artiola I Fortuny L. and Mullaney H.A.: Assessing Patients whose language you do not know: Can the Absurd Be Ethical?. The Clinical Neuropsychologist 1998, Vol 12, No 1, pp. 113-126.
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