Evaluating Progress Tests in EFL Contexts: A Case Study of Non-English Majors at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Author Information

Hong Thuy Nguyen, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Vietnam
Thi Thu Phuong Do, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Vietnam

Abstract

Testing is an essential part of language teaching and learning as it helps learners, teachers and the administrators to measure the effectiveness of pedagogical methods. However, alongside the positive impacts, testing may also bring some negative consequences. Against this backdrop, designing an appropriate test which meets the requirements of test validity and reliability while ensuring high-quality content and structure remains a challenging task for teachers and test designers. For these reasons, this paper is going to present an overview of test validities, reliabilities and provide an evaluation of the Reading Test administered at Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) for the first-year non-English major students from non-native English speaking countries including Laos and Mongolia. The study aims to assess the quality of the test based on analyzing students’ responses at item level. It also discusses the strengths and weaknesses in the test content, structure and layout. The statistical data including item difficulty, item discrimination and test reliability coefficients are calculated to demonstrate the results of the study. The results, therefore, are expected to be useful data for teachers, learners and test designers to improve the quality of language teaching, learning and assessment.

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