The following are some of the most common types of
objective items used to test awareness of the grammatical features of the
language. Each type of item will be treated in greater detail in this chapter.
- multiple-choice
items
- error-recognition
items
- rearrangement
items
- completion
items
- transformation
items
- items
involving the changing of words
- ‘broken
sentence’ items
- combination
items
- addition
items
It should always be remembered that such items as the
above test the ability to recognize or produce correct form of language rather
than the ability to use language to express meaning, attitude, emotions, etc.
nevertheless, it is essential that students master the grammatical system of
the language they are learning. Thus, classroom tests of grammar and usage can
play a useful part in a language program.
MULTIPLE
– CHOICE GRAMMAR ITEMS, ITEM TYPES
The type of multiple-choice item favoured by many
constructors of grammar tests is the incomplete statement type, with a choice
of four or five options. This items may be written in any of the following
ways:
Type 1 Tom
ought not to ……… (A.
tell
B. having
told
C. be telling D. have
told) me your secret, but he did.
Type 2 Tom
ought not to ……… me your secret, but he did.
A. tell
B. having told
C. be telling
D. have told
A.
tell
Type 3 Tom
ought not to B. having
told me your
secret, but he did.
C. be telling
D. have told.
Type 4 Tom
ought not to have told me your secret, but he did.
A. No change
B. Tell
C. Having told
D. Be telling
Item types 2 and 3 are preferable to 1 because
the option do not interrupt the flow of meaning in the sentences: these items
present the entire sentence so that it can be read at a glance. Unfortunately,
type 1 confuses the reader because of the long parenthesis (i.e. the four
options occurring between ought not to and me).
Item type 4 shows the correct (or an incorrect) form as part of the sentence in
such a way that it cannot be compared on equal terms with the other
options: a correct option, for instance, is generally easier to recognize when
it appears in the framework of the sentence than as part of a list of
distractors.
Another item type appears below, but it is not
recommended since it requires the testees to spend time on unnecessary reading.
Not only is it uneconomical but it does not present the ‘problem’ (i.e. the
options) as clearly as item type 2 does.
Type 5 A. Tom ought
not to tell me your secret, but he did.
B. Tom
ought not to having told me your secret, but he did.
C. Tom
ought not to be telling me your secret, but he did.
D. Tom
ought not to have told me your secret, but he did.
The following method is useful for testing short
answers and responses:
Type 6 ‘Tom ought not
to have told anyone the secret.’
A. ‘So ought you’
C. ‘Neither
you oughtn’t.’
B. ‘Neither ought
you.’ D. ‘So
oughtn’t you.’
In type 7 requires the students to select
the alternative which is true according to the information conveyed in each
sentence. Such an item may be included either in a test of reading
comprehension or in a test of understanding of the sentence.
Type 7 ‘Tom ought not to
have told me.’
A. Tom did not tell
me but he should.
B. Perhaps Tom may
not tell me.
C. Tom told me but
it was wrong of him.
D. It was necessary for Tom not
to tell me.
It may be argued that an understanding of
syntactical patterning is just as necessary for the following item:
‘
…… was Robert late last week?’
‘Three times.’
A. How
much
C. How often
B. How
may
D. How long
Items which appear in a test of grammar and structure
should be made to sound as natural as possible. The following mechanical
test item:
This
book belongs to Peter. It is …….
A. Mary’s
book
C. the book of Peter
B. the book to
Mary
D. the book of Peter’s
can be rewritten as follows
This
book belongs to Peter, but that is ……
A. Mary’s book
C. the book of Mary
B. the book to
Mary
D. the book of Mary’s
Note that distractors should
generally be correct both in written and in speech. The following item proved
unsuccessful when it was included in a test because many of the more able
students selected option D. the reason being that they pronounced used
to quite correctly as use to/ju:stÓ™/:
I
…… to go to my uncle’s farm every weekend.
A. am
used
C. was used
B.
used
D. use
Note that sample items discussed in this section have
so far taken the form of short decontextualised items. In practice, however,
such items would all form part of a paragraph or series of paragraphs of
descriptive, narrative or expository prose. The provision of a detailed context
in this way, however, often limits the range of grammatical features
being tested. It is usually impossible, for example, to test the past
continuous tense in a narrative set in the past (unless direct speech is
used). Similarly, a paragraph describing a simple manufacturing process may not
provide the test writer with the opportunity to test all the verb forms
and tenses he or she may wish to test. This is the price to be paid for
including more natural, contextualized items. This is real language used
for a particular purpose. furthermore the provision of context helps to ensure
tat there is only one correct option in each case. Short decontextualised
sentences can lead to ambiguity as they are usually open to several
interpretations when used as stems for multiple choice items. For
example, option D in the following decontextualised item might be correct (as
well as option B) if the student happens to assist with research and
deliberately catch a cold so as to be able to test various cures.
I couldn’t
take the test last week because I ………. a cold.
A. have
caught
B. would catch
B. had
caught
D. was catching
Much better for testing purposes is the following
item. The passage is taken straight from a newspaper article and thus the
language is authentic background knowledge and details to avoid ambiguity and
alternative interpretations, and the newspaper report itself is very
interesting. Does it really matter if it will not allow us the opportunity to
test every point of grammar which we may want to test. Students taking this
test are being given a real feel for the language they are learning.
A
long way from home
A 72-year-old Samoan who (1) ……… no English at
all spent thirteen days (2) ……. on buses in the San Frasisco area
he had become separated (3) ….. his family, police said. (4) …..
said that Faitua Logo, (5) …….. moved to the United States two-years ago, left
his son and daughter-in-law, etc………
(1) A. is speaking
B.
speaks C. has spoken
D. was speaking
(2) A. to
ride
B. was
riding C.
ride
D. riding
(3) A. with
B. from C. by
D. off
(4) A. he
B. they
C. one
D. it
(5) A. which
B. that
C.
who
S. what
etc. …..
CONSTRUCTING
MULTIPLE – CHOICE ITEMS
Although it is not always possible to use samples of
students’ own written work to provide the basis for the test items, it
should not be too difficult for constructors of classroom test and school
achievement tests to take advantage of the types of errors made by students in
their free compositions and open-ended answers to questions.
Item 1
Let us ignore the error in the first sentence for the
time being and concentrate on the error of tense after hope.
Step 1: The
first step is to reduce the length of the sentence and to correct the error
(and any other errors in the original sentence). Thus,
I
hope that you wouldn’t mind on such a long period between my last letter
and this one.
becomes I hope you won’t mind waiting for
so long.
Step 2: Next we
write out the sentence, substituting a blank for the area being tested. We
write in the correct option and the distractor which the student has provided
for us. However, we have to add a sentence because in certain (rare) contexts, wouldn’t may
be correct.
I hope you …….
mind waiting for so long. I promise to reply sooner in the future.
A.
won’t
B. wouldn’t
Step 3: We now
add another two distractors. Again, we go to the written work of our students
to provide these distractors. But if we cannot locate any suitable errors
without too much difficulty, we use our own experience and knowledge of the
target and native languages. Thus, two useful distractors which would also
balance the existing two options might be shouldn’t and shan’t.
Step 4: One
suggestion may be that we replace shan’t with can’t. if
students from a particular language background make such mistakes as can’t
mind, can’t should be used as a distractor, and possibly shouldn’t changed
to couldn’t. as can be seen at this early stage, the actual process
of item writing is extremely subjective.
I hope you
……. mind waiting for so long. I promise to reply sooner in future.
A. won’t
B.
wouldn’t
C.
couldn’t
D. can’t
An alternative suggestion for a fourth option might be don’t
or didn’t.
I hope you
don’t mind waiting for so long.
I hope you didn’t
mind waiting for so long.
Unfortunately, both don’t and didn’t are
correct. However, in the following context, didn’t is not
acceptable.
‘How long are you
going to be?’
‘About half an hour. I
hope you ……. mind waiting for so long.
A.
won’t
B. wouldn’t
C. shouldn’t
D. didn’t
It may be argued that didn’t stands
out too much. If so-and if it is equally useful to test the use of don’t (instead
of won’t) after hope – the item could be rewritten
as:
‘How long
will you be?’
‘About half an
hour. I hope you …….mind waiting for so long .’
A.
don’t
B.
wouldn’t
C. shouldn’t
D. didn’t
Obviously, there
are varying degrees of refinement in the construction of multiple-choice items.
Furthermore, some items are much more difficult to construct than others. The
following two items based on errors in the student’s letter are fairly simple
to write.
Item 2
Error: ……. and enjoy looking the children playing.
Item: Old Mr. Jones enjoys …….the
children playing.
A.
looking
C. looking on
B. looking
at
D. looking to
Some test constructors might be tempted to use for as
a distractor. It can be argued, however, that looking for is
correct: old Mr. Jones might enjoy looking for the children playing (i.e. he
might enjoy walking through the park, chatting to his friends, etc. while he is
in the process of looking for his grandchildren, who are playing).
Note that the correct option is now in the third
position. C. it is important to vary its position. Note also that the word looking
appears in each option: in some tests the item might appear as follows:
Old Mr. Jones
enjoys looking ……the children playing.
A. -
B.
on
C.
at
D. to
However, when this format includes a dash (-), it is
unnatural and not recommended since the insertion of a dash in the stem would
not be normal practice in real life.
Item
3
Error: ‘I suppose that you were not angry
to me.’
Item: I do hope you were not angry …..me.
A. to
B. with C.
on
D. about
Note that at is also incorrect and
may be used as a possible distractor. On the other hand, it may be felt that a
number of native English speakers do say angry at a person. The decision
whether or not to include at in the list of incorrect option
is again a very subjective one.
CONSTRUCTING
ERROR RECOGNITION MULTIPLE – CHOICE ITEMS
The sentence ’Sun is shining, trees become green and
….. The error caused by the omission of the article may be tested as follows,
using a multiple-choice item:
…….is shining
brightly today.
A.
Sun B. The
sun C. A
sun D. Some sun
It may be argued, however,
that the choice here is strictly between option A and B at certain levels where
students have learned to avoid using ‘a’ and ‘some’ with ‘sun’. in such
instances, one useful device (still using the multiple-choice format) is the
error-recognition type of item.
Type 1
Each sentence contains four words or phrases
underlined, marked A, B, C and D. Select the underlined word or phrase which is
incorrect or unacceptable.
1. I do hope
you wouldn’t mind waiting for such a
long time.
A
B
C D
2. I’m worried that you’ll be
angry to me
A
B
C D
3. I didn’t see Bill
since he went into hospital last month.
A
B
C
D
4. My car had
broken down, so I went there by foot.
A
B
C D
Type 2
There is a mistake in grammar in each of the following
sentences. Write the letter of that part of the sentence in which it occurs.
A
B
C D
1. Sun/is
shining/brightly today/, isn’t it?
A
B
C
D
2. Old Mr.
Jones/enjoys/looking the children/playing in the park.
A
B
C D
3. Tony’s father/would
not let him/to stay out/late at night.
A
B
C
D
4. Didn’t/Susan tell
you/she wouldn’t mind to come/with us on the picnic?
Item type 2 allows the test writer to test errors
caused by omission: e.g. Sun is shining and looking
the children. This type of error cannot be tested by the first item of the
error-recognition type. However, there are different ways of correcting many sentences.
For example, students may write B or C to denote the incorrect part of the
third sentence above, according to which of these correct versions is in their
mind:
Tony’s
father would not permit him to stay out late. (=B)
Tony’s father
would not let him stay out late. (=C)
For this reason, the test writer is strongly advised
to avoid items of the second type.
CONSTRUCTING
REARRANGEMENT ITEMS
Rearrangement items can take several forms, the first
of which to consider here will be the multiple-choice type.
Here are two of the errors he made:
‘You know
how is it.’
‘I wonder did you
grow more fatter since summer.’
If we attempt to test the
first error by means of an ordinary multiple-choice item, we are faced with the
problem of being restricted to only two options: the correct option and the
distractor (i.e the error).
You know how
…….
A. it
is
B. is it
As the item stands here, we
cannot possibly construct other options. It becomes necessary, therefore, is
lengthen the original statement to: You know how warm it is today.
The item would then read:
‘Won’t I
need a coat?’
‘Well, you know
how……..’
A. warm is it today
B. today is it warm
C. is it warm today
D. warm it is today
E. today is it warm
There seems to be a danger
here of confusing the testees by presenting them with the problem in such a way
that a certain amount of mental juggling becomes necessary on their part. A
preferable item type is the following word-order item:
Complete each sentence by putting the words below it
in the right order.
Put in boxes only the letters of the words.
‘Won’t I need a coat?’
‘Well, you know how …….’
A. it
B. today C.
warm E.
is
I wonder if ……since summer.
A. grown B. fatter
C. you E. have
Word order items are useful for testing other
structures and features involving inversion:
Everyone’s forgotten …..
A.
cup
B.
he
C. which D. used
Not only ………but he took me to his house.
A.
me
B.
he
C. did
D. meet
However…….you’ll never pass that
test
A.
you
B.
try
C. hard
D. may
The order of adjectives and the position
of adverbs can be tested in this way, as indeed can several other grammatical
areas
The police are looking for ……..
A.
big
B.
two
C. cars
D. black
Would you like to read David Brown’s …..?
A. short
B.
new
C. story D. exciting
Tom said …………..cleaning his car.
A.
had
B. finished C. he
D. just
CONSTRUCTING
COMPLETION ITEMS
Carefully constructed completion items are a useful
means of testing a student’s ability to produce acceptable and appropriate
forms of language. They are frequently preferable to multiple-choice items
since they measure production rather than recognition, testing the ability to
insert the most appropriate words in selected blanks in sentences. The word
selected for omission are grammatical or functional words (e.g. to, it,
in, is, she): content words may be selected in a vocabulary or reading
test.
The error Sun is shining,
although only one answer is possible here, this completion item would have to
appear as:
……….
Sun is shining today.
or as: ………. Sun is shining
today.
The former item suggests to the testees that no
determiner is necessary (since Sun is written with capital
letter) while the latter item suggests that a determiner is necessary (because sun is
written without a capital).
The main item can be simply
be rewritten as a question to overcome its problem:
Is …….sun shining
today?
Here are two more examples of completion items based
on the student’s letter:
Write the correct word in each blank.
1. The old man enjoys looking ……..the children
playing.
2. That car belongs ……….. Helen’s mother.
3. I hope you are not angry ……me.
Put a, the, or some in
each blank only where necessary. If you think that no word should be
placed in the blank, put a cross (x) there.
1. Can you see ……sun shining through the clouds?
2. I saw your uncle …..day before yesterday.
3. What have you been doing since I saw you ……last
summer?
Completion items cannot, of course, be machine-marked
but they are very useful for inclusion in classroom tests and for exercise
purposes. The following example indicates the wide range of possibilities for
one completion item:
I go to
cinema regularly, but I …… to the theatre for months.
The answer obviously
required by the tester is haven’t been; however, possible answers
are :
haven’t been
shan’t be going
hadn’t
been
can’t go
(sometimes) don’t
go
haven’t been able to go
may not go
am not going
don’t know whether I’ve
been
didn’t go
shan’t
go
haven’t gone
won’t
go
haven’t been going
If the aim of this particular item is to force the use
of the present perfect tense, there are three ways of restricting the choice
available to the testees (although the first two ways depend heavily on reading
comprehension):
(a) by providing a context:
Kim usually goes to the cinema about once a week but
she …….four films already this month and it’s only the 20th today.
(possible answers: has seen/will have seen/must have seen)
(b) by providing data:
I go to the cinema regularly, but it’s ages since I
last saw a play.
I go to the cinema regularly, but I ……….to the theatre
for months.
(Possible answers: haven’t been/haven’t gone/haven’t
been going/haven’t been able to go)
(c) by using multiple-choice techniques:
I ……to the theater three times since I last saw you.
A.
go
C. had gone
B. have been
D. went
There are two major advantages in using a passage of
continuous prose rather than separate sentences when giving a completion type
test. Firstly, the use of context often avoids the kinds of ambiguity referred
to in the previous paragraphs. Secondly, the students experience the use of
grammar in context, being required to use all the context clues available in
order to guess many of the missing words.
CONSTRUCTING
TRANSFORMATION ITEMS
The transformation type of item is extremely useful
for testing ability to produce structures in the target language and helps to
provide a balance when included in tests containing multiple-choice
items. It is the one objective item type which comes closest to measuring some
of the skills tested in composition writing, although transforming sentences is
different from producing sentences.
The following transformation items have
been based on errors which occurred in the student’s letter.
Rewrite each of the following sentences in another
way, beginning each new sentence with the words given. Make any changes that
are necessary but do not change the general meaning of the sentence.
1. I haven’t written you for a long time.
It’s a long time ………………………
2. In sunny weather I often go for a walk.
When the weather ……………………
3. Old Mr. Jones likes to look at the children
playing.
Old Mr. Jones enjoys …………………………….
Other transformation items giving some
idea of the range of areas that can be covered in this way are:
1. It was impossible to work under those conditions.
Working ………………………………………….
2. I don’t think it’s necessary for you to stay any
longer.
I don’t think you …………………………………..
3. I was able to leave the office early yesterday.
………………………………………………….
The following examples
illustrate how each of the sentences for transformation can be made to form
part of a continuous sentence.
1. Changing sentences according to a given pattern
(a) Very few objective tests allow for choice.
You have ………………………………………
(b) However, the instruction should be carefully
checked.
However, you ……………………………………….
(c) Different types of questions on the same paper
will necessitate changes in the instructions.
The instructions
……………………………………………………………..
2. Changing sentences by using selected words
(a) Remember that it is not necessary to answer the
questions in the order set (NEED)
…………………………………………………………………………………
(b) You are advised to check your answers carefully
after each question. (ADVISABLE)
……………………………………………………………………………….
(C) Most teachers also recommend you to leave five
minutes spare at the end of the examination in order to check your paper.
(SUGGEST)
……..………………………………………………………………………….
CONSTRUCTING
ITEMS INVOLVING THE CHANGING OF WORDS
This type of item is useful for testing the student’s
ability to use correct tenses and verb forms. It is a traditional type of test
but the layout is improved in this particular case by providing blanks on the
right of the text for completion. The continuity of the text is not impaired
more than necessary by having both blanks and underlined words inserted in the
sentences. Thus the risk of obscuring the meaning of the text is reduced.
1. Verbs; tenses; etc.
Researchers (1) to convince that a
drug
(1) ……………
they (2) to test can improve the
memory and that
(2) ……………
it (3) to be the forerunner of other
drugs which
(3) ……………
eventually (4) to improve mental
ability.
(4) ……………
2. Word building
Students who were given the drug for a fortnight did
considerably (1. well) in tests than others. The tests
(1) ……………
included the (2. memorize) of lists of words as well
(2) ……………
as of (3. inform) from two messages transmitted at the
(3) ……………
same time. During the first week there as no (4.
notice) (4) ……………
difference between the two groups, but after a
fortnight
the group of the drug was found to have increased
its (5. able) to learn by almost twenty
per
cent. (5)
……………
CONSTRUCTING
‘BROKEN SENTENCE’ ITEMS
This type of item tests the student’s ability to write
full sentences from a series of words and phrases, and thus not allow the test
writer to concentrate exclusively on testing those particular grammatical
features which may have just been practiced in class. It is nevertheless a
useful device for testing grammar provided that the tester is aware that
several other areas of the language are being tested in addition to those on
which he or she wishes to focus attention.
In this type of test item,
students should be instructed to make whatever changes are necessary to form
good sentences, adding articles, prepositions, etc. where required and putting
verbs in their correct tense.
Take / drug and stimulants / keep awake / while revise
examination / often be very harmful / it be far better / lead / balanced life /
and get enough sleep / every night. / There / be / limit / degree and span /
concentration / which you be capable/ exert. / Brain / need rest / as much
body. / Indeed, / it be quality / than quantity work / that be important.
CONSTRUCTING
PAIRING AND MATCHING ITEMS
This type of item usually consists of a short
conversation: e.g. a stimulus in the form of a statement or question followed
by a response often in the form of a statement. It is used to test the ability
to select appropriate responses to stimuli which would be presented orally in
normal everyday situations. The item is more useful for testing students’
sensitivity to appropriacy and their awareness of the functions of language
rather than their knowledge of grammar (although grammatical clues may prove important
in completing this item satisfactorily). To perform the task required, students
are simply required to write the letter of the correct response in the space
provided.
Column
1
Letter Column 2
Doing to see a film
tonight?
……. A. No, I didn’t.
How was the
film?
……. B. Most are, I think.
I can’t stand war film, can
you?
……. C. It’s one of the reasons.
So you went to the
cinema.
……. D. I had a lot of work to do.
Don’t you find war films too
violent?
……. E. Actually, I quite like them.
Have you ever seen a Japanese war film?
……. F. Yes, I probably will.
I like war
films.
……. G. No, I haven’t.
Is everyone going to see the
film?
……. H. What a good idea! I prefer them to war
films.
What about going to see a cowboy film instead?
……. I. So do I.
Why didn’t you come with us to see the
film? ……. J. All right. Nothing
special.
Is that why you don’t like war
films?
……. K. Not really, I quite like them.
It should be remembered, of course, that this is not
authentic discourse. However, although the language and situation here are
inevitably artificial, the item does serve to help students to associate the
language they are learning with real-life situations, albeit to a limited
extent.
CONSTRUCTING
COMBINATION AND ADDITIONAL ITEMS
These objective-type items have long been used in past
tests. They should be used sparingly, however, as they involve largely
mechanical responses on the part of the student. Note that although the
separate sentences are linked to one another by theme, the items
can hardly be described as being contextualized in any real way.
1. Combination items
(Students are instructed to join each pair of
sentences using the word in brackets)
(a) You finish the paper then
check your answers carefully. (AFTER)
(b) Some questions may be very
difficult. They should be left until later. (WHICH)
(c) You should usually write
answers in complete sentences for all the questions on your paper.
However, write notes for those questions which you do not have time to answer.
(ALTHOUGH)
2. Addition items
(Students are instructed to insert the word in capitals
in the most appropriate place in each sentence.)
(a)
YET
Have you answered
all the questions?
(b)
STILL
Some students had not mastered the correct techniques for answering
examination questions.
(c) OCCASIONALLY There may be little
choice of questions.
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