Several analyses are presented on the relationships among the Test of Spoken English, Test of Written English, and Test of English as a Foreign Language. The multivariate prediction of each test from the scores on the others is very accurate; variances with two prominent factors may relate to specific cognitive test-taking skills. (eight…

The review presented and discussed in this paper explores the theoretical underpinnings and research findings of the washback of high-stakes tests in the field of language teaching and testing as well general education and suggests areas and ways of researching the phenomenon in the future. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research on the construct validity of the paper-based version of the TOEFL and extend it to the computer-based TOEFL. Two samples of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test-takers were used: native speakers of English specially recruited to take the computer-based TOEFL, and ESL…

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…

Although programs for teaching and testing of English as a second language (ESL) are often evaluated for their attention to communicative competence, there is no consensus on the nature of the communicative competence construct(s) and little empirical support for the various explanatory models. The theoretical literature related to communicative…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if comparisons between scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) are justifiable. The test scores of 216 Iranian graduate students who took the TOEFL and IELTS, as well as the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Higher…

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is a multiple-choice test of English for non-native speakers of English. It consists of two sections: listening comprehension and reading. There are 100 questions in each section. Separate scaled scores are provided for each section, the part score scales ranging from five to 495 and the…

This final report presents a description of a test combining cloze procedure and an entropy analysis (CLOZENTROPY), designed to measure the compatibility of a foreign student's English with that of his peers who are native speakers of English. This test, and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) were administered to 48 foreign students…

Provides a bibliography of published research papers that either describe the history of the TOEFL, offer a critical review of the test, or interpret TOEFL research findings. Some topics include: the correlation of TOEFL with other standardized tests of English language proficiency, TOEFL's role as a predictor of academic performance, the…

Presents data from validation study of American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency (OPI). Distinctness of OPI ratings from scores generated by Test of English as a Foreign Language and one other examination is assessed on basis of comparisons among 70 sets of scores from students of English as Second Language who…

This study was undertaken, in conjunction with other studies field-testing prototype tasks for a new TOEFL, to evaluate the content validity, perceived authenticity and educational appropriateness of these prototype tasks. We interviewed seven highly experienced instructors of English as a Second Language (ESL) at three universities, asking them…

Scores of foreign graduate students on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Tests and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) were combined through multiple and moderated regression to predict grade-point average (GPA). It was hypothesized that TOEFL would moderate the relationship between the GRE scores and GPA. According to…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) program is exploring a change in Section 3 of the TOEFL test that would replace the vocabulary subpart with additional reading comprehension questions. This study investigated the proposed revision in terms of the length and timing that would be necessary to address concerns of test speededness of…

This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that items of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) containing reference to American people, places, customs, etc., tend to favor examinees who have spent some time living in the United States. Two samples of examinees were drawn from the March 1987 TOEFL administration, one tested in…

This study provides validity information for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) by examining some of its inter- and intra-test correlates. (CFM)