This paper reports the findings of an empirical study on ESL/EFL teachers' evaluation and interpretation of oral English proficiency as elicited by the national College English Test-Spoken English Test (CET-SET) of China. Informed by debates on the issue of native speaker (NS) norms which have become the focus of attention in recent years, this…

The study reported here examined the evaluation criteria used to assess the proficiency and effectiveness of the language produced in an oral performance test of English conducted in an American university context. Empirical methods were used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively transcriptions of the Oral English Tests (OET) of 44…

The two authors conducted a small empirical study to attempt to find support for--or evidence against--the view that international tests of English language proficiency are unfair to speakers of non-standards forms of English, since these tests privilege standard forms. We explore the question of whose norms should be imposed in these tests, and…

This work reports on the construction of a rated database of spontaneous speech produced by second language (L2) learners of English. Spontaneous speech was collected from 28 L2 speakers representing six language backgrounds and five different proficiency levels. Speech was elicited using formats similar to that of the TOEFL iBT and the Speaking…

This study examined the effects of training on peer assessment and comments provided regarding oral presentations in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. In Study 1, both the treatment and control groups received instruction on skill aspects, but only the treatment group was given an additional 40-minute training on how to rate…

This report addresses the reliability of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), not as a measure of speaking ability, but rather as practiced by testers trained by the ACTFL, such as by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR), in English as a Second Language (ESL), French, German,…

Differences in procedures used by academic institutions and government agencies in administering the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Oral Proficiency Interview test are examined, and results and implications of two studies of interrater reliability are discussed. (MSE)

Preliminary data was gathered to guide subsequent research that will shape training procedures and scoring practice for performance assessment activities that integrate multiple content areas. Content area integration is a key feature of many of the tasks in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), a large-scale assessment of…