Fundamental

Principles of Tests
Fundamental Principles of Tests
• Bachman and Palmer (1996) outlined six
fundamental principles for designing and
evaluating language tests.
• These principles ensure that language tests are
both useful and valid for their intended
purposes. The six principles are:
• VALIDITY
• RELIABILITY
• AUTHENTICITY
• INTERACTIVITY
• PRACTICALITY
• IMPACT
 VALIDITY
• The test should accurately measure the
language ability or construct it is
intended to assess. This means that the
test tasks should truly reflect the
underlying skills they aim to evaluate.
 Different Validity Types
• Construct Validity
• The degree to which a test accurately measures
the theoretical construct (i.e., language ability) it
is supposed to assess.
• Example: If a reading comprehension test is
designed to measure a learner’s ability to
understand texts, it should not be influenced by
unrelated skills such as general knowledge.
Construct-irrelevant Variance (CIV) and
Construct Underrepresentation

•Construct-irrelevant Variance (CIV): When a test

measures abilities or factors unrelated to the intended
construct (e.g., testing reading speed in a vocabulary test).
•Construct Underrepresentation: When the test fails to
include key aspects of the construct it aims to measure
(e.g., a listening test that only assesses word recognition
but not comprehension).
• Content Validity
• The extent to which the test content represents the
language skills or knowledge it aims to measure.
• A test has content validity if it includes a
representative sample of the material it is
supposed to assess.
• Example: A grammar test that covers only past
tense structures lacks content validity if the
learning objective includes future and present
tenses. (Often applicable to achievement tests)
• Criterion-related Validity
• The degree to which test scores are correlated with
an external criterion or standard.
-Concurrent Validity: When test scores are
compared to an established test measuring the same
construct at the same time.
-Predictive Validity: When test scores are used to
predict future performance on a related task.

•Example: A language proficiency test used for university

admissions should predict students’ future academic success in
an English-speaking environment.
• Face Validity
• The extent to which a test appears to be valid
and meaningful to test-takers and other
stakeholders. It is a subjective measure, based
on perception rather than statistical evidence.
• Example: If a speaking test consists only of
multiple-choice questions, test-takers may feel it
lacks face validity because it doesn’t require
actual speaking.
 RELIABILITY
• Reliability – The test should yield
consistent and dependable results across
different administrations, raters, and test
conditions.
• If a test is reliable, it minimizes measurement
errors.
 How to test reliability?
• Parallel Forms Reliability (Equivalence
Reliability)
• The extent to which two different but
equivalent forms of a test produce
consistent results.
• It ensures that different versions of a test
measure the same construct reliably.
• Example: A school creates two versions of a
final exam (Form A and Form B) to prevent
cheating. If both versions produce similar results
for the same students, the test has high parallel
forms reliability.
• Challenges:
• It is difficult to create two perfectly equivalent
tests
• Small variations in question difficulty can
affect results.
• Test-Retest Reliability

• The degree to which test results remain consistent

when the same test is administered to the same
group after a period of time.
• It measures the stability of the test over time.
• Example: If students take an English proficiency
test today and then take the same test a month
later under similar conditions, their scores
should be similar.
• Challenges:
• External factors (e.g., memory, learning,
fatigue) can influence performance.
• Time between tests should be carefully
considered (too short = memory effect; too
long = learning effect).
• Internal Consistency Reliability
• The degree to which different parts of a test measure the
same construct consistently.
• It ensures that all test items contribute equally to the
measurement of a skill. It checks if all test items
contribute to the same construct.
• Types:
• Split-Half Reliability: The test is divided into two halves (e.g., odd
vs. even-numbered questions), and scores from both halves are
compared.
• Cronbach’s Alpha: A statistical measure that calculates how well
test items correlate with each other (higher values indicate greater
reliability).
• Example: If a vocabulary test has 50 items and
the first 25 questions give results similar to the
last 25, the test has high internal consistency.
• Challenges:
• Tests that assess multiple skills (e.g., reading
+ writing) may have lower internal
consistency.
• Internal consistency is more relevant for tests
that measure one skill (e.g., a grammar test)
than for integrative tests.
• Inter-Rater Reliability (Rater Reliability)

• The degree to which different examiners or

raters give consistent scores.
• It ensures fairness in subjective scoring,
especially in writing and speaking tests.
• Example: Two teachers independently grade an
essay based on the same rubric. If their scores
are highly similar, the test has high inter-rater
reliability.
• Challenges:
• Subjectivity can lead to scoring variations.
• Raters may have different interpretations of
scoring criteria.
• Ways to Improve:
• Using detailed rubrics to standardize grading.
• Providing rater training to ensure consistency.
• Using multiple raters and averaging their scores.
• Intra-Rater Reliability
• The consistency of scores given by the same rater across
different occasions.
• It ensures that an examiner grades consistently over time.
• Example: A teacher grades a student's essay today and
regrades it next week without knowing the original score.
If the scores are similar, intra-rater reliability is high.
• Challenges:
• Raters may be influenced by fatigue, bias, or changes
in judgment over time.
• Accuracy of Individual Scores

• The extent to which a test score represents a

test-taker’s true ability, minimizing
measurement errors.
• It ensures that a student's test score is not
significantly affected by random factors (e.g.,
stress, distractions).
• Example: A student who normally performs well
on listening tasks suddenly gets a very low
score due to a noisy test environment. This
suggests a lack of score accuracy.
• Challenges:
• Small fluctuations in performance are normal.
• Measurement error can never be fully
eliminated.
• Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)
• The estimated amount of error in an individual's test
score.
• It helps interpret how much a test score might vary if the
test were taken multiple times.
• Example: If a student's score is 85 with an SEM of ±3,
the true score is likely between 82 and 88.
• Challenges:
• A higher SEM means less reliable test scores.
• Tests with many subjective components (e.g.,
speaking) often have a higher SEM.
 Important Points!
• Reliability ensures fairness in assessment
• Reliability increases test validity by minimizing
measurement errors.
• Reliability ensures consistency but does not
guarantee validity (a test can be consistently wrong!).
• Helps in making accurate decisions based on test
results (e.g., admissions, certifications).
• A good language test should have high reliability
and high validity to be both consistent and
accurate in assessing learners’ abilities.
 AUTHENTICITY
• The test should resemble real-life
language use as closely as possible.
• Authentic tests include tasks that reflect
how language is used in real-world
situations, making the results more
meaningful.
 INTERACTIVITY
• The test should engage test-takers'
language ability, cognitive strategies,
and background knowledge.
• A good test should stimulate thinking and
problem-solving in a way similar to real-
world communication.
 PRACTICALITY
• The test should be feasible to develop,
administer, and score given the available
resources, time, and personnel.
• Even a highly valid test may be impractical
if it is too expensive or difficult to
implement.
 IMPACT
• The Impact Principle refers to the consequences
that language tests have on individuals, institutions,
society, and education.
• A language test is not just a measurement tool; it
influences learning, teaching, decision-making, and
policy implementation.
• The test should have a positive effect (washback)
on learners, teachers, and society.
• It should encourage effective learning and
• teaching, and its consequences should be
• beneficial.