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The following are the characteristics of a good test:
1. Validity - It means that it measures what it is supposed to measure.
2. Reliability - A test is reliable if we get the same results repeatedly.
3. Comprehensive - It covers all the items that have been taught.
4. Appropriate in difficulty- It is neither hard nor too easy. You can prepare a Table of Specification (TOS) for the proper distribution of test items.
5. Clear - Questions and instructions should easily be understood by the students.
6. Appropriate in Time - A good test should be finished on a given time allotment.
7. Economy - It makes the best use of the teacher’s limited time for preparing and grading and it makes the best use of the pupil’s assigned time for answering all items.
A test's usefulness can be determined by considering the following qualities of the test: Reliability, Validity, Simplicity and Practicality.
1 Reliability: A good test should give consistent results. For example, if the same group of students took the same test twice within two days - without reflecting on the first test before they sat it again - they should get the same results on each occasion. If they took another similar test, the results should be consistent. If two groups who were demonstrably alike took the test, the marking range would be the same. A test is considered reliable if it is taken again by the same students under the same circumstances and the result is almost the same, taking into consideration that the time between the test and the retest is of reasonable length.
2 Validity: A test is valid when it measures what it is supposed to measure. When we design our tests, we need to be sure that we are not asking SS to do things which are completely different from the activities they have taken part in during our lessons. If a test is for checking SS’s reading ability, then it should check reading skills but not e.g. writing or listening ability.
3 Simplicity: Simplicity means that the test should be written in a clear, correct and simple language, it is important to keep the method of testing as simple as possible while still testing the skill you intend to test. (Avoid ambiguous questions and ambiguous instructions).
4 Practicality: Practicality is the relationship between the resources that will be required in design, development, and use of the test and the resources that will be available for these activities. The resources are human resources, material resources, and time.
This quality focuses on how the test is conducted. Based on this definition, practicality can be measured by the availability of the resources required to develop and conduct the test. Therefore, our judgment of the language test is whether it is practical or impractical. A test that is expensive is impractical. A test of language proficiency that takes a student 10 hours to complete is also impractical. A test that takes a few minutes for a student to take and several hours for examiner to correct is impractical for a large number of testers and one examiner if results are expected within a short time. A test that can be scored only by computer is impractical if the test takes place a thousand miles away from the nearest computer. The value and quality of a test are dependent upon such nitty-gritty, practical consideration.
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