ACHIEVING BENEFICIAL BACKWASH

 Test abilities whose development is encouraged/wanted: test what is important to test,

not what is easy to test (Content Validity—if oral skills are to be encouraged, then test only
oral abilities) + give them more importance than other activities (if they are given very less
marks in exams, students will ignore preparing it).
 Sample widely/unpredictably: when tests are predictable, students/teachers focus on only
those areas. Test samples should include variety of specifications (of objectives).
 Use direct testing: content and results are more authentic in direct testing.
 Make testing criterion-referenced: students are motivated since only their abilities are
measured instead of them being compared to others. Students taking a norm-referenced test
already have a fair idea of their position and fear of failure in competition keeps them from
improving.
 Base achievement tests on objectives: syllabus content apch vs. basing tests on objectives
 Ensure test is understood by students: clear/explicit instructions
 Provide necessary assistance to teachers: a phonetics teacher (objective marking) should
be given guidance before he is made to mark a subjective paper like novel because he might
not be acquainted with the latter.
Practicality: along with validity and reliability, it is desired that the test should be cheap to
construct, administer, score and interpret. However, validity/reliability should not be sacrificed for the
sake of practicality. Instead of lowering standards, concerned authorities should pre-plan about
reasonable construction and administration of a valid and reliable test. Money allocated for
comparatively less important issues could be directed towards this purpose.