LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 24:2 February 2024
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

Poetic Encounter
Available in https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09TT86S4T

Poems
Naked: the honest browsings of two brown women
Available in https://www.amazon.in

Decrees
Available in https://www.amazon.com

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2024
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
Custom Search

Effect of Assessment (Validity and Reliability) of English Language Testing on (EFL) Students’ Terminal Exam

Khatira Habibi, M.A. (TESOL) and Meena Sadam, M.A. (TESOL)

Abstract

Background: Assessment is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data to measure knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. In assessment the terms validity and reliability are the two most important elements in test designing and the process of scoring and administering of the test that directly influence learning outcomes. It is a very important issue for every instructor to be involved in test designing in order to measure what is intended to be measured, especially in EFL contexts.

Objectives: To find out the effect of validity and reliability of assessment in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) testing on students’ final outcome’s performance, and to explore the factors which directly influence the final testing results.

Method and Material: This is qualitative research; the research design is descriptive, and the data was analyzed descriptively. In this research, first we searched for the keywords which related to the research topic through the online academic journals and up to date sources such as (ERIC, ADRI). Out of 51 articles, we reviewed twenty-six of them which mostly explained the effects of validity and reliability of the test on students’ performance. The articles were published between (1989- 2022) years.

Results: The findings indicated that there is a significant link between the final testing result of students, and the English test we designed for English courses. The factors which influence the process of validity and reliability are shortage of congruence between the objectives of the curriculum, the format of the test, and teachers’ inadequate understanding about the assessment.

Conclusion: In assessment the term validity and reliability are meaningful measurements that should be considered when attempting to evaluate the progress of students in any educational setting. It is pivotal issue for every instructor to be considered in test designing to assess what is intended to be measure especially for EFL instructors.

Keywords: Effect of Assessment, Test Designing, Validity and Reliability, Language Testing, fairness

1. Introduction

Assessment is the systematic process of documentation by using realistic data to measure performance knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. Assessment designers strive to create assessments that show a high degree of fidelity to the following traits (Content Validity, Reliability and Fairness).

Assessing students’ knowledge and skills in the learning process requires valid and reliable assessment tools so that we can achieve the goal we set for specific courses. The assessment tools consist of the written test, oral test, field work, practical work, portfolio, conference, and the presentation. If we want to achieve the goal we set for specific educational field, we must develop a standardized test that assesses somehow the knowledge and skill of students through the whole course. Meanwhile, most of the students fail or get lower passing score in the final exam of English language which is a big problem in EFL context of language testing. Validity and reliability are essential topics in designing and administering and scoring a test.

Even exam atmosphere affects final result of any kind of testing to measure examinees’ improvement. Reliability means if the test consistently measures what is supposed to be measured. Reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results. The term validity means if the test measures what is supposed to be measured.

According to Hughes (1989) , validity and reliability are meaningful measurements that should be considered when attempting to evaluate the status of or progress of students in an education setting. Reliability means the test consistently measures what is supposed to be measured. Cozby, 2001 stated that “Reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results”. Cozy (2001, p.18). He emphasized that Reliability should be considered in three various stages such as before test, during the test and after the test. The term validity means if the test measures what is intended to be measured. It is a very essential issue for every instructor, especially EFL instructors to be considered in test designing in order to measure what is supposed to be measure. The term validity runs side by side with standard test. We call the test valid when the three focal components (content, objective, and test) relate to each other.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Khatira Habibi, M.A. (TESOL)
Lecturer, English Department
Kabul University of Medical Sciences
Kabul, Afghanistan
khatera.habibi1@gmail.com

Meena Sadam, M.A. (TESOL)
Lecturer, English Department
Kabul University
Kabul, Afghanistan
habibilima88@gmail.com
Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.