Understanding grammar and vocabulary assessment - what every teacher should know - Guidelines and analytical mark scheme

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by dhado

Understanding grammar and vocabulary assessment for teachers focuses on how to test learners effectively and fairly. It addresses direct and indirect testing approaches, clarifies what kinds of responses tasks elicit, and provides practical guidance for constructing test items. The document stresses avoiding deliberately tricky or prescriptive-grammar questions, ensuring item rubrics are concise, and targeting one grammatical or lexical form per item. It also covers evaluating variety and level appropriateness, handling keys and distractors, and using an analytical mark scheme for B2 writing tasks, supported by external learning resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Testing grammar and vocabulary

Directly and indirectly

Task response types

Guidelines for evaluating test items

General principles

Keys and distractors

Response format

Analytical mark scheme for B2 writing

Resources

Understanding grammar and vocabulary assessment: what every teacher should know 7Y03 1. Testing grammar and vocabulary: a. Directly b. Indirectly Write an answer in 120–180 words in an appropriate style. You have seen this announcement in an international magazine. MY FAVOURITE TEACHER Tell us about a favourite teacher of yours and say what you remember about him or her. We will publish the most interesting article next month. Write your article. 2. What type of response does each of these tasks elicit? Task A Task B 3. Guidelines for evaluating test items General: 􀁸 Don’t include deliberately tricky questions. 􀁸 Don’t test language based on prescriptive grammar. 􀁸 Provide an example of a correctly answered item for selected-response (e.g. multiple-choice, matching) and limited production task types (e.g. short answer questions) . 􀁸 Make item rubrics (instructions) as short as possible (e.g. use stems of a maximum of two lines) . 􀁸 Check for a clear focus on a single grammatical or lexical form per item (e.g. don’t test a verb and a pronoun in a single item) . 􀁸 Don’t use technical vocabulary that will date quickly (e.g. video recorder) . 􀁸 Use sensible positioning, formatting and labelling for test items and test parts. 􀁸 Evaluate each test item individually, then in relation to its neighbouring items, then evaluate the test as a whole, considering: o the overall variety of grammar or lexical items in the whole test o the proportion of the grammatical and lexical syllabus covered by the whole test (if applicable) o whether the vocabulary and grammar tested is appropriate for the level of the test takers. Keys and distractors: 􀁸 For multiple-choice questions , ensure that there is only one correct answer (the key) . 􀁸 Make all distractors equally plausible and ‘attractive’ to test takers. 􀁸 Ensure that all distractors are grammatical when considered in isolation but ungrammatical when placed in the stem. 􀁸 Don’t use distractors that test something that’s above the test takers’ level. Response format: 􀁸 Make keys and distractors of equal length, where possible. 􀁸 If all choices are of different lengths , order them from shortest to longest or viceversa. 􀁸 Do not repeat the same word in the response if it can be put in the stem. 4. An analytical mark scheme for marking writing tasks at B2 level 5. Resources Write & Improve: [https://writeandimprove.com/](https://writeandimprove.com/) English Vocabulary Profile: [http://vocabulary.englishprofile.org](http://vocabulary.englishprofile.org) English Grammar Profile: [http://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profi](http://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profi)le

FAQs

How should teachers decide between direct and indirect testing of grammar and vocabulary?

The assessment can be delivered directly or indirectly, and the document asks teachers to consider how each approach affects what responses learners produce.

What general rules guide the design of grammar and vocabulary test items?

Teachers should avoid deliberately tricky questions, avoid testing prescriptive grammar, keep rubrics as short as possible, target only one grammatical or lexical form per item, and use appropriate formatting and labelling.

How should multiple-choice keys and distractors be constructed?

There must be only one correct key, all distractors should be equally plausible and attractive, distractors should be grammatical in isolation but ungrammatical in the stem, and distractors should not test content above the learners’ level.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by dhado