Ling 472 February 27 2018

Standardized Testing Accuracy

Arifuddin Balla
1. Background
a) Standardized assessments are an integral part of the current assessment landscape in
the USA.
b) Standardized testing is generally viewed as norm-referenced, but not always the case.
c) (English) language testing: TOEFL iBT, SAT, ACT.
d) Standardized assessment refers to the test that is available in English.
e) Standardized testing refers to English standardized testing.

2. Summary
a) Six major qualities that can be used to evaluate all aspects of test development and
use: reliability, validity, impact, practicality, authenticity, and interactivenes
(Bachman and Palmer, 1996).
b) Standardized testing is often widely misinterpreted and misused.
c) Existing language proficiency measures are generally inadequate.
d) Standardized testing does not accommodate students’ different backgrounds.
e) The test score is not always reliable and valid for all of the purposes for which they
are used or for all the students to whom they are given.
f) Many students are still struggling even though they have high standardized testing
score.
g) Standardized assessments contain linguistic demands that are not captured by English
proficiency measures often used by school districts.
h) Standardized test scores do not work for ESL placement of the majority of
international undergraduate students.
i) TOEFL iBT is the most promising as a standardized test for admission in the
university compared to SAT and ACT.
j) Accuracy of teachers’ judgement to standardized test items correlated substantially
with students’ actual performance.
k) There is a need to understand more precisely the relationship between the language of
the classroom, standardized content tests and the language assessed in language
proficiency tests.

3. Strengths/Weaknesses
a) Strengths
i. Kokhan conducted longitudinal study with detail comparison of three
standardized testings.
ii. The three articles represent topic that are still relevant with current situation.
iii.The topic is directly related to language standardized testing, more particularly
English as a second language.
iv.The articles support each other.
 b) Weaknesses
i. The participants do not represent the US.
ii. Other factors that may affect the finding are not included.
iii. IELTS is not included in the comparison.
iv. All studies were conducted in the US.

4. Implication for the teachers

a) Teachers may have accurate judgment compared to standardized testing.
b) Do not necessarily judge the students just based on the standardized testing score.

5. Recommendations
a) Students background should not be ignored in standardized testing.
b) Alternative assessment is need beside standardized test that at some points do not
meet with expectation.
c) The quality of the education should remain to be the top priority for any educational
institution.
d) The lack of standardized testing does not necessarily mean to deter or avoid using it.

References
Butler, F. A., & Stevens, R. (2001). Standardized assessment of the content knowledge of
English language learners K-12: Current trends and old dilemmas. Language Testing, 18(4),
409-427.
Coladarci, T. (1986). Accuracy of teacher judgments of student responses to standardized test
items. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(2), 141.
Kokhan, K. (2013). An argument against using standardized test scores for placement of
international undergraduate students in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
Language Testing, 30(4), 467-489.