Strukturtest

Strukturtest is a term used in German-language literature to denote assessments that focus on the structure of a system, problem, or representation, rather than only its content or external behavior. The precise interpretation depends on the field, and Strukturtest is not a single standardized method but a family of approaches aimed at probing the organization and interrelations within a structure.

In software engineering, Strukturtest is often equated with structural testing or white-box testing. The emphasis is on exercising internal code paths and decision structures, using coverage criteria such as statement, branch, and path coverage. The goal is to reveal defects in the program’s control flow, data flow, or architectural logic that functional testing might miss.

In linguistics and cognitive science, Strukturtests are experimental tasks or judgment assessments designed to probe knowledge of syntactic structure and hierarchical organization. They may involve acceptability judgments, parsing tasks, or experiments that infer how speakers represent grammatical structures in memory.

In education and assessment, Strukturtests can refer to evaluations that emphasize understanding of structure—such as how concepts are organized, how relationships are arranged, or how a solution is structured—rather than isolated facts. The specific design and interpretation depend on the discipline.

Note: The term is descriptive rather than a single, universally defined method; researchers will define Strukturtest within their theoretical and methodological framework.