Language assessment by using grids

Abstract EN

This present paper is an attempt to explore the potential of using information grids for testing English as a foreign language.

The student has to process and evaluate each information piece presented in boxes to judge whether it serves as the correct answer or not.

Trial assessment has been carried out to investigate empirically the hypothesis adopted in this study that grid assessment yields more elaborated and accurate data than the current techniques like multiple choice and short-answer questions.

The results indicate that the difference between the means of the scores on the two tests is significant in favour of grid questions.

The criterion-grid assessment correlation yields a high validity coefficient of 0.789, and the criterion-current assessment correlation is 0.634.

Reliability coefficient of the grid questions is 0.847 and that of the current ones is 0.775.

In the light of the findings, grid questions are recommended for testing grammar.