We examined semiotic exchangeability in pop-up glossary translations and illustrations used as supports for second language learners (SLLs) in computer-administered mathematics tests. In a sample of 516 mathematics items, Grades 3-8 and 11, from a large-scale assessment program in the US, test developers identified terms that could be translated…

The Chinese National Matriculation English Test (NMET) has a test purpose of producing beneficial washback to promote senior high school English teaching and learning. This article presents a large-scale nationwide survey research on student perceptions of the NMET's before-test washback on their English learning outcomes in senior high school and…

There has been a growing call for listening to test-takers' voices across diverse assessment contexts. Within classroom assessment (CA), however, test-takers' voices on ethics are under-researched in the high school context of Iran. Hence, this study purported to disclose Iranian high school test-takers' (n = 15) perceptions of the ethical…

The Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) aims to assess Korean high school students' scholastic ability required for college readiness. As a high-stakes test, the examination serves as a pivotal hurdle for university admission and exerts a strong washback effect on the educational system in Korea. The present study set out to investigate…

This article reports on two studies, testing how three different types of input (skewed first, skewed random and balanced) affect second language (L2) learning of English present counterfactual (IF-Is) and past counterfactual (IF-IIs) conditionals, two constructions differing in complexity. The experiment included a proficiency test, a pretest, a…

This study aims to present the washback effect of the undergraduate English placement examination in Turkiye on teachers who are considered one of the highest stakeholders of the test. The data were collected through questionnaires from 110 participants and follow-up face-to-face interviews with 24 English language teachers having teaching…

Assessing English learners (ELs) in US schools is challenging because many widely used assessments have not been designed with ELs in mind. Yet if teachers are sensitive to how ELs may perform differently from native speakers on such assessments, these assessments reveal useful information about ELs' language and literacy skills. This mixed-method…

Understanding of the differential washback effects of high-stakes tests on students' learning remains limited. This study attempts to fill this research gap by investigating the differential washback effects of the National Matriculation English Test (NMET) in China on students' English learning process across genders, grades and English…

In the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) motivation is conceptualized to be generated by discomfort associated with the learner's experience of a discrepancy between their current L2 self, and their ideal L2 self. However, in the L2MSS model, this discrepancy is not operationalized. A questionnaire containing measures of current L2 selves was…

Test accommodations for English learners (ELs) are intended to reduce the language barrier and level the playing field, allowing ELs to better demonstrate their true proficiencies. Computer-based accommodations for ELs show promising results for leveling that field while also providing us with additional data to more closely investigate the…

Computer-based test (CBT) and paper-based test (PBT) are two test modes to the test takers that have been widely adopted in the field of language testing or assessment over the last few decades. Due to the rapid development of science and technology, it is a trend for universities and educational institutions striving rather hard to deliver the…

English language teachers' assessment ability to assess all areas of pupils' learning is important for comprehending how learners advance across the curriculum and guiding them in their development (Livingston & Hutchinson, 2016). The educational system of Iran decided to shift from traditional teaching methodologies toward communicative…

In this research report, we describe the design and empirical findings for a large-scale study of essay writing ability with approximately 2,500 high school students in Germany and Switzerland on the basis of 2 tasks with 2 associated prompts, each from a standardized writing assessment whose scoring involved both human and automated components.…

The study evaluated a recently postponed national test policy on the use of external agencies' English tests measuring four skills for Japanese university admission purposes. Using Kunnan's principles of fairness and justice, we generated and evaluated three claims regarding the test policy: vocabulary coverage of the tests, the justifiability of…

Through Many-Facet Rasch analysis, this study explores the rating differences between 1 computer automatic rater and 5 expert teacher raters on scoring 119 students in a computerized English listening-speaking test. Results indicate that both automatic and the teacher raters demonstrate good inter-rater reliability, though the automatic rater…