C2 Assessment and Evaluation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which assessment principle is violated when a test measures something other than what it claims to measure?
- Reliability
- Validity (Correct answer)
- Practicality
- Authenticity
Correct answer: Validity
Validity is violated when a test fails to measure the construct or skill it purports to assess.
Question 2: A teacher gives students the same grammar test at the beginning and end of a course to measure progress. This is an example of which assessment design?
- Cross-sectional
- Pre-test/post-test (Correct answer)
- Criterion-referenced
- Norm-referenced
Correct answer: Pre-test/post-test
A pre-test/post-test design measures learner growth by comparing scores before and after instruction.
Question 3: In language testing, 'construct validity' refers to:
- The test's ability to predict future performance
- How well the test measures the theoretical construct it claims to assess (Correct answer)
- Whether the test produces consistent scores across administrations
- The degree to which test content reflects real-world language use
Correct answer: How well the test measures the theoretical construct it claims to assess
Construct validity concerns whether a test accurately operationalizes and measures an underlying theoretical construct.
Question 4: Which type of feedback is most consistent with Assessment for Learning (AfL) principles?
- A final grade without commentary
- Comparative ranking among peers
- Specific, actionable guidance toward improvement (Correct answer)
- A single overall pass/fail decision
Correct answer: Specific, actionable guidance toward improvement
AfL feedback must be formative and specific so learners can act on it to close the gap between current and target performance.
Question 5: An evaluator finds that two raters score the same written essay very differently. This indicates a problem with:
- Content validity
- Inter-rater reliability (Correct answer)
- Construct reliability
- Predictive validity
Correct answer: Inter-rater reliability
Inter-rater reliability measures the degree of agreement between different scorers evaluating the same performance.
Question 6: Which assessment type is primarily used to identify learner strengths and weaknesses at the start of instruction?
- Summative assessment
- Diagnostic assessment (Correct answer)
- Norm-referenced assessment
- Placement assessment
Correct answer: Diagnostic assessment
Diagnostic assessment is administered before instruction begins to pinpoint specific learning needs and gaps.
Question 7: A standardized proficiency test assigns scores relative to a large reference population. This is known as:
- Criterion-referenced testing
- Norm-referenced testing (Correct answer)
- Ipsative assessment
- Authentic assessment
Correct answer: Norm-referenced testing
Norm-referenced tests rank an individual's performance against that of a norming sample, rather than against fixed criteria.
C2 Assessment and Evaluation 2
Which assessment principle is violated when a test measures something other than what it claims to measure?