A new computer-assisted test of academic English for use at an Asian University was commissioned by administrators. The test was designed to serve both placement and diagnostic purposes. The authors and their team conceptualized, developed, and administered a scenario-based assessment with an online delivery with independent and integrated…

Language test preparation has often been studied within the consequential validity framework in relation to ethics, equity, fairness, and washback of assessment. The use of independent and integrated speaking tasks in the "TOEFL iBT"® test represents a significant development and innovation in assessing speaking ability in academic…

Language tools are reflections of the academic traditions of assessment developers, as well as the perceptions of language quality as held by a society. The certification of Quebec's teachers offers an interesting case in point: the Québec Government's "ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport" (MELS) requires that all students in…

This study has investigated the comparability of computer-based testing (CBT) writing prompts in the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) for examinees of different native language backgrounds. A total of 81 writing prompts introduced from July 1998 through August 2000 were examined using a three-step logistic regression procedure for…