In this article, I describe a practical application of the Roussos and Stout (1996) multidimensional analysis framework for interpreting group performance differences on an ESL reading proficiency test. Although a variety of statistical methods have been developed for flagging test items that function differentially for equal ability examinees…

Presents the design and validation of an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) test for a commercial publisher. (Author/VWL)

Explored the relative impact of the test-developer on the performance of test takers using multiple-choice reading comprehension tests that had no specifications. Six passages each with three different sets of multiple-choice items constructed by three groups of individuals were trialled on 335 Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners.…

Investigated the impact of performance conditions on perceptions of task difficulty in a test of spoken language, in light of the cognitive complexity framework proposed by Skehan (1998). Candidates performed narrative tasks whose characteristics and the conditions under which they were performed were manipulated, and the impact of these on task…

Examines what opportunities test takers have to display their knowledge of managing conversations in the second language in two types of tasks: nonscripted interviews and guided role-play activities. Data consists of 30 interviews and 30 role-play activities between near-native examiners and intermediate learners used in language exams in Hungary.…

A communicative-competence orientation was undertaken to study the validity of test-score inferences derived from the revised Test of Spoken English (TSE). To implement the approach, a sample of undergraduate students, primarily native-English speakers, provided reactions to the test responses of a sample of TSE examinees. (Author/VWL)

Compares two language tests with different item types. The tests are the Dutch Reynell test and the BELL test. Both tests were administered to 64 Dutch kindergarten children with an average age of 70.3 months. Regression analyses indicate that item type does not contribute significantly to prediction of item difficulty, but the linguistic…

Evaluates the characteristics of Yes/No tests as a measure for receptive vocabulary size in a second language (L2). The evaluation was conducted both on theoretical grounds as well as on the basis of a large corpus of data collected with French learners of Dutch. Focuses on the internal qualities of the format in comparison with other more…

Examines one aspect of the many interfaces between second language (L2) learning and L2 testing. The aspect is the oral interaction--the dialogue--that occurs within small groups. Discusses from within a sociocultural theory of mind, that in a group, performance is jointly constructed and distributed across the participants. (Author/VWL)

Uses structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between learning strategy use and second-language test performance (SLTP) in 1,382 high- and low-ability test takers. Results showed metacognitive strategy use and SLTP models produced similar factorial structures for each group; cognitive strategy use models differed. This suggests…

Reviews developments in language testing research and practice over the last 20 years, and suggests future directions in the areas of professionalizing the field and validation research. Argues that concerns for ethical conduct must be grounded in valid test use, so that professionalization and validation research are inseparable. (Author/VWL)

Investigates how schemata activated by culturally familiar words might have influenced students' cloze test-taking processes. Subjects were Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language students. Results demonstrate that students who read culturally familiar cloze texts tried to solve more items and generally understood the text better, which resulted in…

Compares accuracy of five formulae in terms of their ability to model the type-token curves of written texts produced by learners and native speakers. The most accurate models are then used to consider unresolved issues of past research on lexical diversity: the relationship between lexical diversity and age, second language instruction (L2), L2…

This article presents a standard-setting procedure for performance assessment in a foreign language, through which some of the major problems facing performance assessment in criterion-referenced testing can be addressed. The procedure, which was geared to revealing and accommodating inter-judge variability, employed the synergy of multiple…

Describes several elicitation techniques used for speech act data collection and analysis and discusses their suitability in testing a learner's acquisition of the rules of language use. Argues that the development of testing instruments for communicative competence cannot be divorced from the field of cross-cultural pragmatics. (SED)