The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a group of states working together to develop a set of assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college and careers. Administrations of the PARCC assessment included three Prose Constructed Responses (PCR), one per task for English…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for all students, including English…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for all students, including English…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for all students, including English…

The IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) investigates the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a range of countries in the second decade of the 21st century. ICCS 2016 is the second cycle of a study initiated in 2009. The ICCS 2016 user guide describes the content and format of…

This supplement describes national adaptations made to the international version of the PIRLS/prePIRLS 2011 background questionnaires. This information provides users with a guide to evaluate the availability of internationally comparable data for use in secondary analyses involving the PIRLS/prePIRLS 2011 background variables. Background…

Speaking a second language is probably the most difficult skill to test in that it involves a combination of skills that may have no correlation with each other, and which do not lend themselves to objective testing. In addition, what can be understood is a function of the listener's background and ability as well as those of the speaker. Another…

Lists five objectives in creating an item bank for language proficiency test items and describes the design of an item bank card. Briefly discusses item analysis and population distribution in this system and points out the numerous advantages of the system and conditions for its success. (PMJ)

A good knowledge of English vocabulary is important for anyone who wants to use the language, so knowledge of vocabulary is often tested. A test may test one or all of the types of vocabulary (active spoken, active written, passive listening, and passive reading), but the test maker should be aware of the differences among the types and which is…

This text on foreign language testing provides an overview of testing principles, problems, and practices, and examines the multiple roles of the classroom teacher, as well as the construction and scoring of more formal language tests. The following types or foreign language tests are distinguished: achievement or attainment tests, proficiency…

The design of vocabulary tests, particularly for English as a Second Language, is discussed. The discussion is intended to help language teachers with little or no knowledge of testing gain a better understanding of vocabulary testing. First, a set of principles for guiding the writing of vocabulary tests are outlined, presented in the form of…

The Galbahe Language Tests C1 and C2 measure the Spanish language proficiency of children aged 7 to 8 years (C1) and those aged 10 to 11 years (C2). Equivalent tests E1 and E2 measure the Basque language achievement of the same age groups, respectively. Both tests were designed as part of a study of teaching of the Basque language in parts of…

This guide is intended for adult educators who work with limited English-speaking students in need of special literacy instruction. It was developed as an outgrowth of classes with adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of the students had little formal schooling in their native languages. The…

The guide is intended for teachers who must construct language tests and for other professionals who may need to construct, evaluate, or use the results of language tests. Most examples are drawn from the field of English-as-a-Second-Language instruction in the United Kingdom, but the principles and practices described may be applied to the…

This sampler of student responses to mathematics and science items was assembled to show how student responses differ depending on whether students are tested in English or in their native languages. The sampler aims to promote awareness among teachers and assessment developers that low language proficiency in English is a factor that can penalize…