Design+Statement

Use or copy this table and respond to the questions/issues to formulate your design statement.

What tasks will you use to test specific elements within the domain? (e.g., if the domain is 'language instruction' in terms of academic writing, tasks may include summarizing, paraphrasing, choosing best topic sentences, etc.) ||  ||
 * ~ Criteria ||~ General explanation. ||~ Your detail about your particular test ||
 * ~ Purpose of the test || Why are you testing?
 * Think in terms of making inferences about the language ability of the test takers, and specific decisions that you will make based on these inferences.
 * Also consider the potential washback. ||  ||
 * ~ Describing the TLU domain || In what domain will you test the TLU (target language use): is the domain
 * 'real-lfe' (i.e., situations where language is used primarily for communication) or
 * 'language instruction' (i.e., situations where language is used for the purposes of teaching and learning of language.)
 * ~ Defining the construct || What is the basis of your test? Is it
 * 1) syllabus-based (e.g. define the construct according to the components of languge ability as given in the course syllabus, or linked to learning objectives and outcomes)
 * 2) theory-based (i.e. define the construct according to components of language ability based on a theoretical model of language ability; linked to descriptors of ablity in context, e.g. ALTE 'can do' statements of ability) ||   ||
 * ~ Characteristics of the test-takers || These will include:
 * 1) Personal characteristics (age, gender, L1, nationality, etc.) and educational context (primary, secondary, higher, vocational, etc.)
 * 2) Backround knowledge (i.e. will the test make assumptions about the test-taker's world knowledge, language functions, e.g. register, intonation, language skills, e.g. making inferences, etc. that may contribute to a test bias)
 * 3) General level and profile of language ability (link to CEF)
 * 4) Potential affective response to test (i.e. how will students feel about doing the test. What factors might make lead to positive or negative affective responses.) ||   ||
 * ~ Plan for evaluating test usefulness || What factors will you take into consideration to evaluate the usefulness of the test according to reliability, validity, practicality, authenticity and washback. How will you collect the data and analyze the usefulness? ||  ||
 * ~ List of resources you will use in developing the test || List the explicit resources (who will be involved in designing the test, what materials/equipment/sources will you use, how much time will it take you to design the text.) ||  ||