CBA 1

Absolute grading

A score on a test-taker's performance is empirically calculated by predetermined measures of achievement of learning objectives.

Achievement test

An instrument used to determine whether course objectives have been met—and appropriate knowledge and skills acquired—by the end of a given period of instruction.

Alternative assessment

Various instruments that are less traditional and more authentic in their elicitation of meaningful communication.

Analytic scoring

An approach that separately rates a number of predetermined aspects (e.g., grammar, content, organization) of a test-taker's language production (e.g., writing); as opposed to holistic scoring.

Appropriate-word scoring

A scoring method (in cloze tests) that accepts a suitable, grammatically and logically acceptable word that fits the blank space in the original text.

Aptitude test

An instrument designed to measure capacity or general ability a priori (e.g., before taking a foreign language course) to predict success in that undertaking.

Assessment

An ongoing process of collecting information about a given performance according to systematic and substantively grounded procedures.

Authenticity

The degree of correspondence of the characteristics of a given language test task to the features of a target language task.

Autonomy

The ability to set one's own goals and independently monitor success without the presence of an external stimulus.

Bottom-up processing

Comprehending language by first attending to the "smallest" elements of language (e.g., letters, syllables, words) and then combining them into increasingly larger elements; as opposed to top-down processing.

Bursts

The length of word groups in a dictation test.

Classroom-based assessment

Activities and instruments, usually created by teachers or students, that provide evaluative information to be used as feedback on students' performance.

Cloze

A text in which words are deleted and the test-taker must provide a word that fits the blank space.

Communicative test

A test that elicits a test-taker's ability to use language that is meaningful and authentic.

Competence

One's hypothesized (empirically unobservable) underlying ability to perform language.

Compound noun

A noun that is made up of two or more words; in English, these are formed by nouns modified by other nouns or adjectives.

Computer-adaptive test (CAT)

Instruments in which test-takers receive a set of questions that meet test specifications and that are generally appropriate for their performance level.

Construct

The specific definition of an ability; this is often not directly measurable (e.g., fluency) but can be inferred from observation.

Content word

A word that has meaning, such as a noun, main verb, adjective, and adverb; as opposed to function word.

Controlled writing

An outline of content or form is given to the writer to complete a sentence or paragraph.

Controlled-response task

A task that limits the amount of language that is produced (e.g., grammatical or lexical constraints apply).

Cooperative learning

Classroom methodology that fosters learner interdependence for the purpose of developing critical thinking and social interaction.

Corpus linguistics

Linguistic description or inquiry that uses computer-based corpora (large databases of real-world language) as its primary source to quantify frequencies, collocations, etc..

Criterion-referenced test

A test designed to give test-takers feedback, usually in the form of grades, on specific courses or lesson objectives.

Critical language testing

A movement to examine possible covert social and political roles of language tests.

Critical pedagogy

An approach to learning and teaching that is motivated by beliefs about education and its place in society.

Diagnostic test

A test that is designed to diagnose specified aspects of a language.

Dichotomous scoring

A method of scoring that considers a test-taker's response as either correct or incorrect, sometimes assigned as a 0 or 1.

Dictation

A method of assessment in which test-takers listen to a text and write down what they hear.

Dicto-comp

A variant of dictation whereby test-takers listen to a relatively long text, try to internalize the content, and use phrases/lexical items to re-create the text.

Direct testing

An assessment method in which the test-taker actually performs the target task; as opposed to indirect testing.

Discourse completion tasks

Techniques used in the study of linguistics and pragmatics to elicit particular speech acts.

Discrete-point test

Assessments designed on the assumption that language can be broken down into its component parts and that those parts can be tested successfully.

Display writing

Writing that is produced, usually in response to a prompt, to show competence in grammar, vocabulary, or sentence formation; as opposed to real writing.

Distractor efficiency

The effectiveness of the distractor to attract a test-taker away from the correct response.

Distractors

In a multiple-choice item, responses used to divert or distract the test-taker from the correct response.

Dynamic assessment

Promoting, through feedback or other forms of support, learner development in the abilities being assessed.

Equated forms

Forms that are reliable across tests so that a score on a subsequent form of a test has the same validity and interpretability as a score on the original test.

Evaluation

Making decisions about students' performance (and possibly competence) based on the results of tests, other assessments, and/or teachers' reports.

Exact-word scoring

A scoring method in cloze tests that is limited to accepting the same word found in the original text.

Fixed-ratio deletion

A method in cloze tests where every nth (e.g., sixth or seventh) word is deleted in a text.

Focus on form

Attention to the organizational structure (grammar, phonology, vocabulary, etc.) of a language.

Formal assessment

Systematic, planned exercises or procedures constructed to give teacher and student an appraisal of student achievement.

Formative assessment

Evaluating students in the process of "forming" their competencies and skills with the goal of helping them continue that growth process.

Form-focused assessment

Assessment that focuses on the organizational components (e.g., grammar, vocabulary) of a language.

Function word

A word (e.g., preposition, pronoun, auxiliary verb, article) that has very little meaning but instead serves to express relationships among other words; as opposed to content word.

Gatekeeping

Playing the role of allowing or denying someone passage to the next stage of an educational (or commercial, political, etc.) process.

Genre

Type or category of a text (e.g., academic writing, short story, pleasure reading).