Testing instructional materials

Testing instructional materials

Introduction

Instructional materials require more extensive and detailed testing than other literacy materials. It is very important that you test them carefully for

pedagogical effectiveness
linguistic accuracy, and
cultural appropriateness.

Here are some kinds of instructional materials you will need to test:

Primers
Workbooks
Graded readers
Other learning materials

See:
Kinds of literacy materials

Prerequisites

Here are some prerequisites for testing instructional materials:

You need to carefully edit the materials you want people to test.

See:
Editing literacy materials

You need to prepare for testing even as you develop the materials.

Example:

Make a list of potential problems, questions, alternatives, and possibilities as you and your colleagues think of them. Use the list to help you design appropriate tests for the materials.

You need to make draft copies of the materials.
You need to review the modules associated with Designing a test for literacy materials

Things to do
	Here are the things to do when you test instructional materials:
	Make sure that test administrators understand the reading approach on which the materials are based. Use specific and careful procedures to test primers. Evaluate the results of the tests and make changes in the materials as necessary.

Context for this page:

Task module: Testing instructional materials
In task module: Testing various kinds of literacy materials
In task module: Testing and evaluating literacy materials, by Trudy K. Stewart (contributor) and Leah B. Walter (compiler)
In task module: Evaluating components of a program, by Julia R. Van Dyken (contributor) and Stephen L. Walter (contributor)
In task module: Implementing a literacy program, by Carole P. Spaeth (compiler)
In modular book: Implement a literacy program, by Carole P. Spaeth (compiler) and Leah B. Walter (compiler)
In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 22 October 1999