Revision tests

Revision tests are created by the teacher for an individual course/student to revise topics that have been covered in the course during the assessed period. For this reason, revision tests need to be created by the course’s teacher.

Usually, students take the test in a lesson over the assessment period. It lasts between 20 and 40 minutes, and the content and types of exercises vary based on what needs to be covered. For instance:

• exercises on vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, listening comprehension and a brief writing task

• a complex writing task which, through specific instructions, makes the student use relevant vocabulary and grammar tools matching a given situation, audience and register

• preparation to present a certain topic followed by the student presenting.

The result of a revision test is the student's knowledge of tested areas displayed in a percent - a result of 85% or more is considered excellent.

Based on the main principles of a revision test, it’s not possible to compare student outcomes since they match the student’s pace and progress - students on roughly the same level might cover a different number of topics and the test will cover these accordingly. This makes this kind of test unsuitable for comparing skills.

On the other hand, revision tests are an excellent tool for thorough feedback on an individual student’s achievements as well as monitoring individual student progress. As mentioned above, when focusing on the individual student, a revision test is the best diagnostic tool.

The type of test chosen for the assessment period is based on discussions between the language school and the client. As a language school, we are able to recommend a certain type of test to a client based on the client’s needs, aims and objectives.