Modern approaches to the development of test tasks in linguistic disciplines to measure academic achievement of students

Keywords: test, testing, testing functions, types of testing, test tasks, validity, measuring, test’s typology, learning process

Abstract

The views of scholars on the issue of testing as a pedagogical entity enabling democratization of the educational process, its intensification and differentiation, development of the future specialists’ memory, thinking and speech, classifying the knowledge and helping teachers receive objective information (feedback) and monitor the students’ studying and cognitive activities are considered in the article. The actual development stage of Ukrainian higher education system is characterized. In practice it is represented as a contradiction between the structure of the educational process and the unavailability of the relevant testing system.

It is ascertained, that at one point, introduction of the competence approach in teaching as well as shifting the educational process at a higher educational establishment to the assessment of the students’ achievements enhances implementation of modern educational technologies aiming at forming the required competences and establishing funds of assessment means allowing accomplishing complex assessment of the competences developed. On the other hand, the system under consideration has not been completely worked off, since assessment comprises measurement of specific components only, namely, competences, abilities and skills formed within the scope of particular subjects studied, as well as practices and modules of the relevant educational programme.

It is emphasized that assessment constitutes a crucial issue in theory and practice of teaching, thus establishing an effective means of monitoring educational achievements, estimation and acknowledgement of the students’ knowledge. Assessment has always been and will remain an important component of any educational process, regardless of changes in forms and means of evaluation; its core essence remains untouched, since it enables democratization of the educational process, its intensification and differentiation, development of the future specialists’ memory, thinking and speech, classifies the knowledge and helps the teachers receive objective information (feedback) and monitor the students’ studying and cognitive activities. An overview of the studies of both foreign and Ukrainian researchers proves that, notwithstanding the comprehensive representation of theoretical aspects of the issue, namely, assessment of the students’ knowledge as an essential component of the educational process in a contemporary higher educational establishment including the development of test tasks as means of measurement of students’ educational achievement within the scope of linguodidactics of higher educational institutions is not sufficiently considered.

It is established, that nowadays considerable attention is being paid to testing technologies. It is caused not only by introduction of External Independent Evaluation into the educational process and greater demands regarding testing, but by standardization of knowledge assessment procedures. The issue of assessment accuracy of the future specialists’ knowledge constitutes an acute problem in the context of modern testing technologies introduction, since it is the testing that enables accurate measurement of the level of knowledge more clearly and transparently.

In the article 9 testing functions are described: controlling, educational, diagnostic, stimulating, developing, educative, managerial, remedial and planning.

Author Biography

Volodymyr Shkavro, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University

post-graduate student of Ukrainian language department

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Published
2017-12-29
How to Cite
Shkavro, V. (2017). Modern approaches to the development of test tasks in linguistic disciplines to measure academic achievement of students. Theoretical and Didactic Philology, (26), 121-130. Retrieved from https://tdp-journal.com/index.php/journal/article/view/59