Before Testing Participants

Recorded Text Testing
Background Research
Intelligibility Interviews
Choose Kind of Test
Choose Test Points
Materials
Obtain a Text
Develop Questions
Create Introduction Text
Assemble Pilot Test
Administer Pilot Test
Select Final Questions
Build Reference Tests
Develop Post-RTT Questions
Administer Text Test Set
Process Scores

Administer the Pilot Test
Before Testing Participants
Testing Participants

Before Beginning the Test

When talking to local authorities to obtain permission to do research, or when explaining to subjects what they'll be doing, you often must describe the RTT procedure. Usually you do this in another language. If you practice talking about the test in advance, you will be more confident of doing it with test subjects and officials.

Selecting Test Participants

Allowing just anyone to participate in the formation or testing of an RTT can reduce the validity of the test. When you screen the people who will be pilot testing an RTT, you are making sure that they really know the test language and that their speech hasn't been influenced much by other, possibly related languages. Screening subjects for the final test makes sure that they're really part of the group you want to test and that they're not familiar with the test language. Click here for some suggestions for selecting RTT participants.