In this speech, the author covers a lot of ground. In the first half of his speech, the author gives a brief summary of the last 40 years of the history of language testing, from his perspective. The author reviews these years more or less by decade. Additionally, he discusses the evolution of the profession of language testing during this period,…

A study investigated the rating scale used in the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) oral interview, focusing on the concept of vocabulary underlying assessment. The study examined the differences in strategies used by fluent native speakers and non-fluent non-native speakers to avoid disruption of communication in real conversation when…

Discussion of oral communication between native and non-native speakers focuses on proficiency-related differences in interactions where the non-native speaker is experienced and those in which he is a novice. Research in oral proficiency development, discourse domains, and communication strategies is reviewed. It is argued that the ways in which…

This report describes research in progress at Duisburg University on a modification of the cloze principle in language testing. Four problem areas in classical cloze tests are isolated and discussed, namely, text selection, test construction, scoring, and interpretation. The "C-tests" in the process of development use the theoretical…

Since the numbers of foreign students aspiring to college and graduate degrees in the United States is increasing, there is a need for a reliable and valid English proficiency test which, ideally, would be neither costly nor time consuming. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the extent to which three tests, the Michigan Test of English…

A study demonstrated the utility of item analyses to investigate which items function well or poorly in a second language reading recall protocol instrument. Data were drawn from a larger study of 56 learners of German as a second language at various proficiency levels. Pausal units of scored recall protocols were analyzed using both classical…

The use of factor analysis in examining the dimensionality of language tests is questioned and found to be problematic because it has a number of weak points which make it possible to manipulate results. Some of these weaknesses occur in the examinee selection sample, test selection, and the methods of extraction and rotation chosen. The use of…

This paper describes an attempt to follow up the performance of foreign graduate students in the College of Engineering, University of Michigan, and discusses whether the scores they obtained on the Michigan Battery, with special reference to the composition test, predicted success or lack of success in their first term subjects. No significant…

The ability of the Rasch model computer program BIGSTEPS to perform concurrent calibration and differences in the outcomes between vertical equating using a common item anchoring method and a common item concurrent calibration method was examined. The data for the investigation came from two Chinese language tests that researchers wished to…

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 paper discusses research conducted in the spring of 1991 that measured the relationship of reading subtest scores to teacher ratings of students' reading abilities. Sixty-eight advanced-level students in an intensive English program took an institutional version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and a specimen reading…

The relationship of affective variables and types of exposure to second language learning was investigated along with the validity of a questionnaire on attitudes toward English. The affective questionnaire, exposure indices, and tests of English proficiency were administered to 403 Chinese, Japanese, and Thai university students who had studied…

In recent years, T-unit analysis has been applied in second language research to characterize the syntactic nature of linguistic input and to assess the syntactic maturity of the learners' written production. This measure has been seen to provide an objective and reliable method of determining the overall complexity of language samples. However,…

This paper reports on the results of seven questions asked to secondary level department chairmen regarding the unit tests which accompany textbook materials. Nearly 1,500 responses were received from teachers of French, German, and Spanish. The results indicate that most teachers do not use publishers tests when they are available. The…

This study investigated the effects of student self-assessment on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students' knowledge achievement and academic thinking. Ninety-four college seniors from the Department of English at the School of Education at Suez University in Egypt participated in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups, an…