This article draws on argument-based validation to gather and evaluate construct-related evidence (i.e., the explanation inference) of a high-stakes test. The data stemmed from the listening component of a French test used for immigration to Canada through the province of Quebec. An expert panel with varied backgrounds in applied linguistics…

Many English language proficiency (ELP) tests used for university admissions and placement now include integrated writing tasks that require examinees to use external sources when writing. Integrated writing tasks improve test authenticity and impact, but they raise several validity questions, such as what academic language skills they engage and…

The present study investigates the relationship between productive collocation knowledge and advanced levels on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale. More precisely, the potential progression between the B2 and C1 levels of the CEFR is studied through the development of a productive collocation test in second…

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a cross-curricular literacy test issued to all secondary school students in the province of Ontario. The test consists of a reading and a writing component, both of which must be successfully completed for secondary school graduation in Ontario. This study elicited 16 first language and second…

Starting from the premise that the assessment of second language learners' competence is a must at several points during the learning process, discusses the usefulness of laboratory testing. Argues that it allows for standardized testing, facility of test administration, easy scoring, objective measures, reliability and validity of results. (MES)

Discusses the concept of communicative competence in second language learning and various models for testing this skill. (AM)

Outlines stages followed in initial development of an attitude/motivation test battery to study individual differences associated with achievement in French and presents reliability and validity data. Focuses attention on procedures for test construction and evaluation of test adequacy. (Author/BK)

Defining course objectives and testing these objectives are inseparable components of the education process. The development of a model using eleven language functions as the basis for testing communication in a second language is described. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Evaluates the validity of the test used to place students in the comprehension-based courses offered by the Second Language Institute of the University of Ottawa. The test is described in the context of the target student population and the comprehension-based courses. Different factors of evaluating the concurrent and predictive validity were…

Provides a detailed analysis of techniques used for second language vocabulary assessment and the implied assumptions about the underlying construct of vocabulary knowledge. The article notes that existing measures of vocabulary size are uninformative as to the depth of knowledge that learners have about particular words. (56 references)…