Introduction

In this chapter I review various considerations that influence the design of discrete vocabulary tests. As you will recall from Chapter 1, these are tests which measure vocabulary as a construct separate from other aspects of language ability. Discrete tests most commonly focus on vocabulary knowledge: whether the test-takers know the meaning or use of a selected set of content words in the target language. They may also assess particular strategies of vocabulary learning or vocabulary use. Such tests are to be distinguished from broader measures of vocabulary ability that are embedded in the assessment of learners' performance of language-use tasks. Measures which are appropriate for embedded assessment are considered in Chapter 7.

The discussion of vocabulary-test design in the first part of this chapter is based on the framework for language-test development presented in Bachman and Palmer's (1996) book Language Testing in Practice. Since the full framework is too complex to cover here, I have chosen certain key steps in the test-development process as the basis for a discussion of important issues in the design of discrete vocabulary tests in particular. In the second part of the chapter, I offer a practical perspective on the development of vocabulary tests by means of two examples. One looks at the preparation of classroom progress tests, and the other describes the process by which I developed the word-associates format as a measure of depth of vocabulary knowledge.