Language Measurement

Wahyu, M.Pd.
There are several terms related to language
measurement, they are:

❑Test
❑Measurement
❑Assessment
❑Evaluation
Test
The test is a set of tools that contain instructions or
questions that require student responses under
certain conditions and specific scoring rules
(Haladyna, 1997). This is in accordance with the
opinion of Gronlund & Linn (1990) which states the
test as an instrument / systematic tool or procedure
to measure a sample. Test is aimed to determine to
what degree an ability is present in the student.
Measurement
Measurement (Khemani, 2009) is the process of
comparing certain parameters with standard
parameters. Parameter/quantity is a numerical or
other measurable factor forming one of a set that
defines a system or sets the conditions of its
operation, a limit. According to Arikunto (1992),
measurement is an activity of comparing something
with a standard measure.
 Assessment and Evaluation
❑Assessment (Subiyanto, 1988) is a way to obtain data through various forms of measurement, while evaluation
is a way to obtain information to make decisions.

❑According to Doran et al., (1994), assessment is the collection of information both quantitative and qualitative
to determine the performance of individuals, groups or programs through various techniques (tests,
observations or other techniques), while evaluation (evaluation) is a process of assessment and decision
making on information obtained from the results of consideration of measurement and assessment.

❑Assessment can be done through measurement, and assessment results can be used to carry out evaluations.
Assessment and evaluation cannot be carried out without measurement.

❑In the assessment, the teacher not only conducts a test, but sees the process of student learning progress, so
that the teacher can easily provide individual assistance to each student who has difficulty in learning. The
evaluator has the meaning of not seeing each individual but seeing as a whole. Judging from the
implementation process, assessments can be carried out at the beginning (before the process), during the
learning process, and at the end of the learning process while evaluating at the end of the whole process.
 Language test is any means of checking what the students can do with language which can be
in the form of question or task that elicits the students’ ability in the language learned. In a broad
definition:

✓When: when does the test take place? Is it before, during, or after the language course? Is it an ongoing
assessment or terminal assessment?

✓Who: who and how many students are tested? Who made and administer the test?

✓What: what to include in the test?

✓Where: where is the test administered? In the classroom, outdoor, laboratory, etc.

✓How: how to score the test? Does it use objective or subjective scoring? Does it use holistic or discrete
scoring?

✓Why: why does the teacher administer the test? What is the purpose of the test? Is it to assist or assess
learning or to see how much the students have learned? Or is it to see whether they take the language test to
do something in the particular?
Teaching and Testing
Both are two activities that can be accomplished concurrently and consecutively,
which means testing can be carried out while teaching is going on. According to
Heaton (1988), teaching and testing are so closely interrelated that it is
impossible to work in either field without being concerned with the other.

Language teaching is aimed to develop the communicative competence and

performance of the learners while language test is designed to measure the
learners’ communicative competence and performance in language.
What should be tested?

Language skills. Communication involves four language skills which can be measured
separately or integratedly. Listening comprehension may be in the forms of short
utterances, dialogues, talks and lectures. Speaking ability is usually measured in the form
of interview, conversation, role-play, etc. Reading comprehension is usually tested by
using a set of questions to measure student’s ability to understand a text and extract the
key information on specific points in various kinds of text. Meanwhile, writing ability is
measured through letters, reports, memos, messages, instructions, and account of past
events, etc.
What should be tested?

Language areas/language subskills. There are three subskills of language

usually tested. A test of grammar measures students’ ability to recognize
appropriate grammatical forms and manipulate the structures. A test of
vocabulary measures student’s knowledge of the meaning of certain
words, while test of pronunciation measures the ability to pronounce the
words correctly.