Virtual Item Bank

The Virtual Item Bank (VIB) provides teachers with practical ideas and models for developing classroom assessments. Items are based on theACTFL Proficiency Guidelinesand on themodes of communicationas defined byStandards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century.

Items

Items are the specific tasks students are asked to perform in an assessment.Sample itemsare intended to provide a model for teachers on how different types of stimuli can be used to assess learners' progress in reading and listening (interpretive mode) and speaking and writing (interpersonal and presentational modes). It is important to note that it is the task to be performed or the question type to be answered that determines thelevel的任务。

When assessing reading and listening, questions/tasks should include a variety of thinking skills based onBloom's taxonomy: creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, analysis, understanding and remembering. A comparison of the revised and previous versions of Bloom's taxonomy, developed by Richard C.Overbaugh and Lynn Schultzcan be seen at Old Dominion University's web site.道尔顿和史密斯developed questions and verbs applicable to each of the knowledge types and can be seen in this older view.

Please Note:For general accessibility, most items are in English. In actual items, however, it is important that the instructions to the student be either in the learner's native language or, if in the target language, at a level appropriate to the learner's understanding.

LanguageEnglishArabicJapaneseKoreanMandarinSpanishTurkishLevelNoviceIntermediateAdvancedSuperiorModeListeningReadingSpeakingWriting

Adobe Readeris needed to view items in PDF format.

Test-Writing Tips (VAC)

TheVirtual Assessment Center(VAC) contains web-based learning modules that provide teachers with background information, step-by-step guidance, and many practical resources for developing second language assessments.

Resources

Thispage of resourceshas software and website links and suggestions that may be useful for creating and administering assessment items.