Qualifications of Testers Preparing Large-Scale Tests



• Testers should be selected from experienced teachers who have a strong sense of the book – if there are certain books that need to be taught-  they are teaching. They know exactly when or what a student will ask during the course of the lesson. So, they will be a lot more competent at doing their jobs.
• If the testers are to work together as a team, then the team members should be selected in such a way that they could work as a team effectively.
• A tester is a person who has a crystal clear idea of the approach (es), method (s) and the techniques that are employed by the institution.
• A tester is a person who knows the goals and objectives of the assessment programme. There are very obvious reasons for that, but I believe the most important one is justification: That's how testers might be able to justify their tests.
• A tester should not consider himself more important or more superior to the other instructors. In fact, he should act like a servant helping instructors/teachers to facilitate their work.
• A tester should also know  the profile of the students so s/he can prepare  tests which are in accordance with students’ cultural background etc.
• Testers should be given ample opportunities to improve themselves (workshops &seminars). However, I believe the seminars or workshops they attend should be carefully selected by the testers. Practical applications should outweigh theoretical explanations. Overexposure to theoretical seminars may bore them.
• An assessor’s duty may be regarded as being fully competent at test classifications. If these classifications are not clear in one’s mind, it may cause problems. Teachers may join seminars which consist of ten people at most. I believe attending to a workshop with seven people could be a lot more effective than a workshop with thirty people.
• A tester’s working station is also important. S/he knows how to organize her room or desk. There should be sound or video recording, necessary equipment, photocopying, and printing or duplication facilities at her disposal.
• It would be better for a tester to know what s/he does before a test, during the test and after the test. For instance, before testing spoken language, teachers should decide on the number of teachers. Will there be just two interviewers or one interlocutor and one interviewer? Will the interviewers also be the markers? How will the classroom be organized? According to Underhill(1987):

 ‘The chairs of the interviewer and the student don’t have to face each other on opposite sides of the table: they can be arranged at an angle or even side by side.’
These sorts of little adjustments might create big differences during the flow of the oral exams. Another point is that, what an examiner should or shouldn’t say during oral exams. For example, over-correction or fill pauses or silences automatically are the things on the don’ts list. Finally, after the oral test, teacher should use a checklist which was prepared before the tests to prove objectivity. Again, a seminar should be given to those teachers who need more information and most importantly willing to learn more about the issue.
I mentioned sending testers who seminars or workshops too much but one must not forget that testers should go to seminars as long as:

1. They are willing to do so
2.  They are interested in learning new things about the issues
3.   They are given extra time to do so
4.   They are given financial support
5.  There are not many people at the workshop they are attending
6. The workshop is not all about theory

• Last but not least, an induction programme should be given to new testers.