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Abstract： Test rubric refers to the criteria in test designing. Specially， the effective use of test rubrics by teachers and students can influence teaching and testing. This paper introduces test rubrics. And an explanation is given on aspects of the test rubric， including the advantages of using it in teaching procedures.
Keywords： testing； test rubric； time allocation；
Introduction
A rubric is an authentic assessment tool used to measure students'' work. It is a working guide for students and teachers， usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged. A rubric enhances the quality of direct instruction.（Alan Davies， 2002） Rubrics can be created for any content area including math， science， history， writing， foreign languages， drama， art， music， and even cooking！ Once developed， they can be modified easily for various grade levels.
It can be explained as the instructions appearing on the test paper which explain how a test should be taken. The rubric consists principally of information about test organization （including format and relative importance of the various parts of the test） and time allocation， as well as instructions for tasks and how test takers should respond to them. It may include descriptions of what each part of the test is aiming to assess， or it may simply name the skill being tested. The level of detail provided to the test taker， both before the test in a test handbook or manual， as well as in the test rubric during the test itself， may influence the test taker’s performance. The test rubric， or parts there of， may be in the candidates’ first language or in the target language.
I.Terms related to test rubric
The rubric of the test consists of the facets that specify how test takers are expected to proceed in taking the test. These include the test organization， time allocation， and instructions.
1. Test organization
Most of language tests consist of a collection of parts， which may be either individual items or questions， or sub—tests which may themselves consist of individual items. The salience of these parts， how they are sequenced， and their relative importance can be expected to affect test takers’ performance.
The test taker’s perception of the test， and his performance， may be affected by both the salience of the parts as distinct entities and by the descriptions of these parts that are provided by the test developer. （Bachman， 1990） In tests in which the parts consist of individual items， for example， test takers may adopt differing response strategies， depending on a number of factors， such as their perception of the relative difficulty of the different items， how they are instructed to respond， and the amount of time allocated. The sequence in which the different parts are presented my also influence test takers’ performance. In tests which are designed to measure level of ability， power test， the parts are typically of differing degrees of difficulty， and ordered from easy to difficulty， and ordered from easy to difficult. In tests aimed primarily at measuring an individual’s rate of performance， speeded tests， on the other hand， items will be of nearly the same level of difficulty， and may be ordered more or less at random. According to the different purpose of different tests， the parts of a test are not always weighted equally， that is， different parts may have taken different proportion of the test score. And the test performance may be affected because of the awareness of the relative importance of the parts of the test. Many test takers may assume that all of the parts are weighted equally. Hence， test takers should think about their test—taking strategies first and then try to do well on the most important parts.
2. Time allocation
Time allocation of different parts can sometimes affect the performance of a test taker. Depending on the types of language test， different kinds of test may have different time allocation. Such as in a purely speed test， in which the items are so easy that every person taking the test might be expected to get every item correct， given enough time. But sufficient time is not provided， so examinees are compared on their speed of performance rather than on knowledge alone. Conversely， power tests， which allow sufficient time for every person to finish， but contain such difficult items that few if any examinees are expected to get every item correct. In order to take reasonable periods of time to finish a test， test users need to be aware of these differences in what different tests measure.
3. Instructions
The test instructions are particularly important because it is through them that we inform test takers how they are expected to approach and attempt the test tasks. They will reflect the considerations that we have included in the design of the test and will thus communicate to the test takers our intentions as test developers. Madson （1982） mentions unclear or inaccurate instructions and inadequate time allocation as sources of test anxiety， and hence， influences on test performance. Normal test instructions include test purpose， parts of the test and their relative importance， procedure to be followed and scoring method. （Bachman， 1996：184）
II. The advantages of using test rubrics in assessment
Many experts believe that rubrics improve students’ test performance and therefore increase learning. When teachers evaluate papers or projects， they know implicitly what makes a good final performance and why. When students receive test rubrics beforehand， they understand how they will be evaluated and can prepare accordingly. So， developing a standard and making it available as a tool for students’ use will provide a scaffolding which is necessary to improve the quality of their work and increase their knowledge. The advantages of using test rubrics in assessment are as follows： ———teachers can increase the quality of their direct instruction by providing focus， emphasis， and attention to particular details as a model for students.
———Students have explicit guidelines regarding teacher expectations.
———Students can use the test rubrics as a tool to guide their self—study.
———Teachers can reuse the standard rubrics for various activities.
III.Conclusion
Test rubrics are an effective assessment tool in evaluating students’ performance tests which are complex and sometimes vague. By using test rubrics in language tests， the students take more responsibility for their own learning， are involved in the teaching/learning process， and have a clearer idea of what is expected in terms of specific performance. And at the same time， teachers clarify their goals， expectations， and focus， and even find that their paperwork is reduced because students are a part of the process of assessment development.
References：
1.Davies， Alan. 1999. Dictionary of Language Testing. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.
2.Bachman， Lyle F. 1990. Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
3.Bachman， Lyle F. & Palmer， A.S. 1996. Language Testing in Practice. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
4.Henning， Grant. 1987. A Guide to Language Testing： Development， Evaluation and Research. Heinle & Heinle publishers.
5.Hughes， Arthur. 1989. Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.
作者简介：孙薇娜 1978——— 长春工程学院讲师 硕士研究生 研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。
Keywords： testing； test rubric； time allocation；
Introduction
A rubric is an authentic assessment tool used to measure students'' work. It is a working guide for students and teachers， usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged. A rubric enhances the quality of direct instruction.（Alan Davies， 2002） Rubrics can be created for any content area including math， science， history， writing， foreign languages， drama， art， music， and even cooking！ Once developed， they can be modified easily for various grade levels.
It can be explained as the instructions appearing on the test paper which explain how a test should be taken. The rubric consists principally of information about test organization （including format and relative importance of the various parts of the test） and time allocation， as well as instructions for tasks and how test takers should respond to them. It may include descriptions of what each part of the test is aiming to assess， or it may simply name the skill being tested. The level of detail provided to the test taker， both before the test in a test handbook or manual， as well as in the test rubric during the test itself， may influence the test taker’s performance. The test rubric， or parts there of， may be in the candidates’ first language or in the target language.
I.Terms related to test rubric
The rubric of the test consists of the facets that specify how test takers are expected to proceed in taking the test. These include the test organization， time allocation， and instructions.
1. Test organization
Most of language tests consist of a collection of parts， which may be either individual items or questions， or sub—tests which may themselves consist of individual items. The salience of these parts， how they are sequenced， and their relative importance can be expected to affect test takers’ performance.
The test taker’s perception of the test， and his performance， may be affected by both the salience of the parts as distinct entities and by the descriptions of these parts that are provided by the test developer. （Bachman， 1990） In tests in which the parts consist of individual items， for example， test takers may adopt differing response strategies， depending on a number of factors， such as their perception of the relative difficulty of the different items， how they are instructed to respond， and the amount of time allocated. The sequence in which the different parts are presented my also influence test takers’ performance. In tests which are designed to measure level of ability， power test， the parts are typically of differing degrees of difficulty， and ordered from easy to difficulty， and ordered from easy to difficult. In tests aimed primarily at measuring an individual’s rate of performance， speeded tests， on the other hand， items will be of nearly the same level of difficulty， and may be ordered more or less at random. According to the different purpose of different tests， the parts of a test are not always weighted equally， that is， different parts may have taken different proportion of the test score. And the test performance may be affected because of the awareness of the relative importance of the parts of the test. Many test takers may assume that all of the parts are weighted equally. Hence， test takers should think about their test—taking strategies first and then try to do well on the most important parts.
2. Time allocation
Time allocation of different parts can sometimes affect the performance of a test taker. Depending on the types of language test， different kinds of test may have different time allocation. Such as in a purely speed test， in which the items are so easy that every person taking the test might be expected to get every item correct， given enough time. But sufficient time is not provided， so examinees are compared on their speed of performance rather than on knowledge alone. Conversely， power tests， which allow sufficient time for every person to finish， but contain such difficult items that few if any examinees are expected to get every item correct. In order to take reasonable periods of time to finish a test， test users need to be aware of these differences in what different tests measure.
3. Instructions
The test instructions are particularly important because it is through them that we inform test takers how they are expected to approach and attempt the test tasks. They will reflect the considerations that we have included in the design of the test and will thus communicate to the test takers our intentions as test developers. Madson （1982） mentions unclear or inaccurate instructions and inadequate time allocation as sources of test anxiety， and hence， influences on test performance. Normal test instructions include test purpose， parts of the test and their relative importance， procedure to be followed and scoring method. （Bachman， 1996：184）
II. The advantages of using test rubrics in assessment
Many experts believe that rubrics improve students’ test performance and therefore increase learning. When teachers evaluate papers or projects， they know implicitly what makes a good final performance and why. When students receive test rubrics beforehand， they understand how they will be evaluated and can prepare accordingly. So， developing a standard and making it available as a tool for students’ use will provide a scaffolding which is necessary to improve the quality of their work and increase their knowledge. The advantages of using test rubrics in assessment are as follows： ———teachers can increase the quality of their direct instruction by providing focus， emphasis， and attention to particular details as a model for students.
———Students have explicit guidelines regarding teacher expectations.
———Students can use the test rubrics as a tool to guide their self—study.
———Teachers can reuse the standard rubrics for various activities.
III.Conclusion
Test rubrics are an effective assessment tool in evaluating students’ performance tests which are complex and sometimes vague. By using test rubrics in language tests， the students take more responsibility for their own learning， are involved in the teaching/learning process， and have a clearer idea of what is expected in terms of specific performance. And at the same time， teachers clarify their goals， expectations， and focus， and even find that their paperwork is reduced because students are a part of the process of assessment development.
References：
1.Davies， Alan. 1999. Dictionary of Language Testing. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.
2.Bachman， Lyle F. 1990. Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
3.Bachman， Lyle F. & Palmer， A.S. 1996. Language Testing in Practice. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
4.Henning， Grant. 1987. A Guide to Language Testing： Development， Evaluation and Research. Heinle & Heinle publishers.
5.Hughes， Arthur. 1989. Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.
作者简介：孙薇娜 1978——— 长春工程学院讲师 硕士研究生 研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。