The purpose of the current research study was to investigate the extent to which student performance was influenced by the disruption to learning that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To explain observed differences in performance, we compared outcomes from a state-wide summative testing program between students who were administered the…

In this study we evaluated the stability of item parameters and student scores, using the pre-equated (pre-pandemic) parameters from Spring 2019 and post-equated (post-pandemic) parameters from Spring 2021 in two calibration and equating designs related to item parameter treatment: re-estimating all anchor parameters (Design 1) and holding the…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of charter schools designed to improve the educational opportunities available to low-income families. KIPP schools seek to boost their students' academic achievement and, ultimately, prepare them to enroll and succeed in college. This paper provides the most thorough analysis to date of the…

A typology of Pacific countries is attempted based on economic systems and degree of socioeconomic development using various indicators (per capita income, literacy, life span). Dimensions of language are then grafted onto these grids and an attempt is made to qualitatively correlate socioeconomic development with various manifestations of…

A study was carried on to analyze a data set in order to determine whether evidence can be found to support or refute the unitary factor hypothesis of language proficiency, which asserts that there is a single language dimension or factor underlying different language tests. The subjects were 50 advanced adult learners of English as a second…

This study explored the dichotomy between global errors, that is, those violating rules of overall sentence structure, and local errors, that is, those violating rules within a particular constituent of a sentence, and the relationship of these to communication breakdown. The focus was tense continuity across clauses (TC) and subject-verb…

Since the writing section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) computer based test (CBT) is a single-prompt essay test, it is very important to ensure that each prompt is as fair as possible to any subgroups of examinees, such as those with different native language backgrounds. A particular topic of interest in this study is the…

Findings are presented from the Teachers Language Skills Survey, the first national survey undertaken to estimate how many teachers currently employed in public schools have the backgrounds, experience, education, and skills needed to teach students with limited-English proficiency. Information was gathered on teachers teaching in the 1976-77…

This paper provides a discussion of some of the dilemmas that face teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). The author suggests that end-of-course assessments of ESL students should include a measure of growth, gain, or value-added, as well as measures of students' mastery of the English standards or English course criteria. Research has…

A statistical model is presented for analyzing the results of group conversation tests in English, developed in a Finnish university study from 1977 to 1981. The model is illustrated with the findings from the study. In this study, estimates of percentile curves for the number of errors are of greater interest than the mean regression line. It was…

This study was conducted to evaluate the tests developed by elementary foreign language teachers of French, Japanese, and Spanish in a school district in South Carolina. The tests were designed to determine the level of end-of-year student learning and to provide a basis for evaluating the curriculum of each of the three languages. The French and…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors involved in applying multimedia in teaching English as a foreign language. In particular, it deals with the non-courseware factors affecting the use of multimedia in improving the pronunciation and oral communications skills of students majoring in English for Specific Purposes at the Jordan…

A survey of training programs for teachers of English as a Second Language is presented. The survey focused on 177 graduate level ESL teacher education programs. The study categorized 177 graduate-level programs into three groups. Over 1,300 different course titles occurring 2,567 times across the programs are integrated in 27 areas that are later…

Located at a meeting place between the West and the East, Hong Kong has been chosen in this comparative investigation to reconfirm a theoretical model of "reciprocal relationship" between mathematics achievement and self-concept using the 8th grade databases from TIMSS and TIMSS-R. During the time between these two projects, Hong Kong…

This paper reports the results of generalizability theory (G) analyses done for new writing and speaking tasks for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). For writing, a special focus was placed on evaluating the impact on the reliability of the number of raters (or ratings) per essay (one or two) and the number of tasks (one, two, or…