MODULE III:

LEARNING TESTING:
APPROACHES AND
TECHINIQUES
B. TEST TECHNIQUES
Direct Versus Indirect Testing
Discrete Point Versus Integrative Testing
Norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced Testing
Objective versus Subjective Testing
1. Direct Versus Indirect Testing
Direct when it requires the candidate to perform
precisely the skill that the test wishes to measure.
Direct Testing easier to carry out when it is intended to
measure the, productive skills of speaking and writing.
Direct testing has a number of attraction. First,
provided the abilities that should be assessed is clear,
its relatively straightforward to create the conditions
which will elicit the behaviour on which judgement
will be based. Secondly, at least in the case of the
productive skills, the assessment and interpretation of
students’ performance are also quite straightforward.
Indirect Testing attempts to measure the abilities that
underlie the skills in which the test is interested. It
contains underlined items which the student need to
identify as erroneous or inappropriate in formal
standard English. While the ability to respond to such
items has been shown to be related statistically to the
ability to write composition.
Example: Lado’s 1961 proposed of method of testing
pronunciation ability by a paper and pencil test in
which the student has to identify pairs of words which
rhymes with each other.
2. Discrete Point Versus Integrative Testing
Discrete – a completely discrete point item would test
simply one point or objective such as testing for the
meaning of the word in Isolation.
Discrete Point Testing refers to the testing of one
element at a time, item by item.
For example: take the form of a series of items, each
testing a particular structure.
Choose the correct meaning of the word PARALYSIS.
a. Inability to move b. State of Unconscious
c. State of shock c. Being in Pain
Integrative Testing by contrast, requires the candidate
to combine many language elements in the completion
of a task. This might involve writing a composition,
making notes while listening to a lecture. taking
dictation or completing a cloze passage.

Discrete Point test will almost always be indirect, while

integrative test will tend to be direct.
3. Norm-referenced versus Criterion-
referenced Testing
Norm-reference test is that students’ scores are
interpreted relative to each other on a normal
distribution scheme (bell curve).
Criterion-referenced Exam measure students’ ability
against a predetermined standard. The learning
objectives of a specific course or unit o a course. The
interpretation of score is, therefore, absolute and may
be representational of the amount of course material
that the student has learned.
-Commonly used to measure achievement and to
diagnose strengths and weaknesses.
4. Objective versus Subjective Testing
Objective Testing is no judgement required on the part
of the scorer. A multiple choice test, with the correct
responses unambiguously identified. That this has
only one right answer.
Subjective Testing if the judgement is needed in
scoring. This is called a free composition which may be
more subjective in nature if the scorer is not looking
for any right answer, but rather a series of factors
( creativity, style, cohesion and coherence, grammar,
and mechanics)