Advantages and Limitation in using Google Doc

The advantages of using Google Docs in creating test items are the items created can be embedded into the blog. Therefore, students can do questions on the Teacher's blog and the participation of the students in taking the test can be easily obtained by using Google Doc. It will save Teacher's time to mark the student's answer as Google Doc can help to check it for the teacher. There are many activities that can be done by using Google Docs. for example, I have done a listening test item by creating a listening audio (by using Voki) and create listening questions in Google Docs. Any types of questions can be done by using Google Docs. However, picture, animation or video cannot be put inside Google Docs. Hence, we need to put our graphic materials into our blog first before embed our questions link (Google Docs) to our blog. This is a new experience for me to do sample of test items by using Google Doc. It is a fun way of learning on how to use it as we can use it for our teaching next time and students are definitely will love it  ^o^

Tutorial 2(b)

-Both of the items are valid as they test on grammar. It is reliable as well as both of the items has fixed answer. In terms of practicability, the items are not too difficult to answer. 

 -The item is not valid as it does not measure on what it supposed to be measured. It is not reliable as it does not have a fixed answer and will cause arguments for the test marker. The test item is also not practical as it is difficult to construct.

 -The test item is valid in the sense that it tests on verb forms. The test item is reliable. In terms of practicability, the item is not difficult for the candidates that know the Subject verb agreement.

-The items are valid as it measures on what it should be measured, i.e. the vocabulary. They are also reliable in the sense that each of them has a fixed answer. In terms of practicability, the items might be difficult to answer if the candidates do not know the meaning of the words. The items show positive washback effect as they test on vocabulary. 

 -The item is not valid because it does not test on what it is supposed to test. This will only bring negative washback effect of the students as it tests more on reading instead of listening.

-This item is not valid as it does not test for communicative competence, but it tests on grammar (verb). The item is reliable as the answers are fixed. In terms of practicability, the item is easy to answer by students. This item shows negative washback effect as it emphasized more on grammar instead of communicative competence. 

-This item is not valid as it does not specify on which skill it wants to focus because it only stated ‘Elementary level test’ instead of Elementary level test: writing test’. This item is fairly practical because some of the candidates that know the format to write a complain letter will be easy to write it. But for those students that do not know on how to write a complain letter, than this item is not reliable for them. 

-This item is valid as it tests on speaking skill. The item is not reliable as different raters will give different scores for the candidates. This is more to subjectivity issue in giving the score for the students. This item has a positive washback effect as it tests on speaking skill, not other skill. 

Types of Tests & Purposes

When test is administered	Types of Tests	Purpose of Test
Beginning	Diagnostic	To help check students’ progress in specific weakness that they have encountered
During (Formative)	Proficiency Progress	It is used to measure how suitable the students will be for performing a certain task. To find out how well the candidates have mastered the language areas after they have learnt the topic.
End (Summative)	Achievement Placement	To find out how well the candidates have mastered the language areas throughout the semester. Enables teacher to sort the students into group based on their performance in the class.

Evaluating Faulty Items

Item 1 is not an example of a good item as the distractors do not well function in this item. Distractor A is definitely not the answer if students know the subject verb agreement rule. Sally is singular, therefore the verb should be added with ‘-S’. The distractor C is definitely not the answer as Brown is not a type of tense. Hence, the possible answers are B and D.

Item 2 does not test on specific lexical knowledge. Therefore, students tend to confuse on what are the types of lexical that need to be filled in such as adjective, verb, noun and so forth. 

Item 3 tests on spelling. There are many possible answers for the unscrambled letters above. For instance, the word CAT can become TAC. Hence, the raters need to know the specific answer in order to mark the correct answer in a reliable way. 

Item 4 have a very long winded instruction that can confuse the students when reading it. The item is valid to the extent that it tests the meaning of the word from the context. However, some of the candidates tend to guess the answer by choosing on the options given on the text. The practicability issue of this item is the problem  here. 

Item 5 has a practicability issue due to the Question ( C) in which the Art stream students are unable to write the essay on this question because they do not have knowledge on Einstein’ Theory. A writing item must make sure that all questions are able to do by all the students either in Art or Science stream. 

Item 6 is an information transfer question. The item is valid as it tests on reading comprehension. However, students can simply guess the answer as they are only required to fill in the numbers on the questions only. 

Item 7 tests on what it supposed to test. However, it only tests on the words that are used instead of information that the listening audio has provided. Students that know on some of the word in the sentence structure usually used, tend to fill the word(s) easily without listening to the audio speech.

Item 8 is not valid as it does not test on speaking abilty. Students only follow on what the teacher has said or pronounced and they cannot speak without the teacher’s guide.

Holystic or Analytic marking?

Both holistic and analytic marking are important. Honestly to say, I prefer holistic marking as this will save a lot of time as a teacher to mark students’ papers. However, holistic marking needs the teacher to be experienced in marking as the teacher can give marks based on their experience in students’ writing. In order to use holistic marking, a teacher needs to be experienced and learn to use analytic marking at their beginning of their teaching career. After some time (perhaps few years later), then holistic marking can be used in marking students’ papers. 

Having read Anderson's article, what's your take on her argument 'from traditional assessment to alternative assessment in HE'. Give your reasons for the stand taken.

Changes need to be taken into account in assessment. The traditional assessment treats learning as a passive process. So, students are treated as empty vessel that do not know anything about the topics that they will learn in class. So, the instructor will fill their empty vessel without make them have chance to explore the subjects by their own. Therefore, traditional assessment is more towards teacher-oriented. Conversely, alternative assessment will be in another way round. It treats learning as an active process. Students have to explore by their own and at the same time, instructor has to assist them directly or indirectly.

Next, traditional assessment separates process from product. This type of assessment focuses more on the product rather than the process of what, how, and why students learn. Alternative assessment emphasises the process as well as the product of learning.

Alternative assessment focuses on the collaboration of the students in learning. The sharing of ideas and knowledge among the students can be done by alternative assessment instead of traditional assessment. Therefore, students have the chance to make decision that can be used in evaluation process. Apart from that, rubrics can be used to rate the criteria, and they can engage in peer and self-evaluation as well.  

Thoughts on YouTube video watched: Traditional assessment vs Alternative assessment

The public examinations in Malaysia such as UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM involve tests which give pressures to the students as well as the teachers in school. Moreover, this exam-oriented education does not give a significant impact for the students in what they have learnt in school. A good test-taker might do well in examination but once they have completed the test, they might not be able to apply what they have learnt in daily lives. Therefore, there is the need to shift from traditional assessment to performance-based assessment in school in order to let the students to know on their abilities without using paper examination. Performance-based assessment is used in measuring the performances of the students when they are assigned by their teacher to do a project. It is essential to let the students to experience on what they do because teachers cannot spoon-feed the students all the time. Hence, the teacher acts as a facilitator in assisting the students in doing project. Student is considered to be competence in certain subject areas when the student is able to explain on what he or she has read to another person. Project-based assessment emphasises on the process of learning rather than the product of learning. Hence, it is important for students to experience the learning process as they tend to remember the most on what they have experience and can apply the skills in daily lives. 

3 things I liked about the article by Rebecca S. Anderson

First thing that I liked about this article is about the issue of the need to shift from traditional assessment to alternative assessment. The traditional assessment emphasises on the teacher-centered concept as the overuse of lecture as a primary teaching method. The assessment conducted is probably based on the objective questions or true false questions that only test students’ basic or general knowledge. Therefore, students perhaps cant perform well in that assessment but cannot apply it in real-life situation. Therefore, alternative assessment is used to replace the traditional one in which it tests the students’ ability to use what they’ve learnt in real context.

The second interesting issue is the comparison of philosophical beliefs and theoretical assumptions of traditional and alternative assessment.  In Anderson’s article, there are 9 aspects that she has mentioned in order to compare the traditional and alternative assessment: knowledge, learning, process, focus, purpose, abilities, assessment, power and control, and individual vs collaborative process.

The third thing that I liked about this article is about the rubrics in assessment. Rubrics is important to provide students the guidelines or criteria for them to follow in order to grade their work. Teachers will use the criteria provided by using the rubrics and grade students’ work. At the same time, students will know on how the teacher marks their work because they have already know the criteria that they must be fulfilled in order to achieve the grade that they want. 

Merry Christmas

Reading Test Item 5

-This is a comprehension level of question in which students need to understand the comic strip and answer the question based on their understanding towards the story in the comic strip.

Reading Test Item 4

-This is a comprehension level of question as students can answer the question if they understood the short text above. 

Reading Test Item 3

-This is a comprehension level question in Bloom’s taxonomy. Students get a gist of information based on the advertisement above and answer the question based on the choices given.

Reading Test Item 2

Question 2(i) : The level used in Bloom’s Taxonomy is the comprehension level in which students need to organise the idea of the whole story into a category (Theme). 

Question 2(ii) : Application level in Bloom’s Taxonomy is used. Students need to read the passage in order to know what the information is trying to convey. The information that they get, will determine them to choose a correct answer or response based on the choices given. 

 Question 2(iii) : The level used in Bloom’s Taxonomy is the knowledge level. Students need to identify the meaning of ‘chattered’ based on their vocabulary knowledge. However, students can also identify the meaning of the word based on the clues given on the text. This can be categorised into comprehension level in Bloom’s Taxonomy as well. 

 Question 2(iv) : This question can be categorised into analysis level in which students are required to make explanation of why the chipmunks have stripes on their back and reach conclusion by explain in by using their own words. 

 Question 2 (v) : This question involves some creativity in answering it as students can provide creative answers without correct or wrong on this question. This question is in synthesis level in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Reading test item 1

This is a type of C-test in which students can be tested on their knowledge of simple past tense. This test falls under the knowledge level in Bloom’s Taxonomy as students need to recall on the past tense that they have learnt in class.