The ultimate aim of our research project was to use the Google Web Speech API to automate scoring of elicited imitation (EI) tests. However, in order to achieve this goal, we had to take a number of preparatory steps. We needed to assess how accurate this speech recognition tool is in recognizing native speakers' production of the test items; we…

Scoring models for the "e-rater"® system were built and evaluated for the "TOEFL"® exam's independent and integrated writing prompts. Prompt-specific and generic scoring models were built, and evaluation statistics, such as weighted kappas, Pearson correlations, standardized differences in mean scores, and correlations with…

Scores assigned by trained raters and by an automated scoring system (SpeechRater[TM]) on the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT[TM] were validated against a communicative competence criterion. Specifically, a sample of 555 undergraduate students listened to speech samples from 184 examinees who took the Test of English as a Foreign Language…

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the distinctness and reliability of analytic (or multi-trait) rating dimensions and their relationships to holistic scores and "e-rater"[R] essay feature variables in the context of the TOEFL[R] computer-based test (TOEFL CBT) writing assessment. Data analyzed in the study were holistic…

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the distinctness and reliability of analytic (or multitrait) rating dimensions and their relationships to holistic scores and "e-rater"® essay feature variables in the context of the TOEFL® computer-based test (CBT) writing assessment. Data analyzed in the study were analytic and holistic…

The increased use of constructed-response items, like essays, creates a need for tools to score these responses automatically in part or as a whole. This study explores one approach to analyzing essay-length natural language constructed-responses. A decision model for scoring essays was developed and evaluated. The decision model uses…

The increasing availability and performance of computer-based testing has prompted more research on the automatic assessment of language and speaking proficiency. In this investigation, we evaluated the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf speech-recognition system for scoring speaking prompts from the LanguEdge field test of 2002. We first…

Four writing samples were obtained from 638 foreign college applicants who represented three major foreign language groups (Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish), and from 60 native English speakers. All four were scored holistically, two were also scored for sentence-level and discourse-level skills, and some were scored by the Writer's Workbench…