Recent research on entering college student assessment instruments and placement practices has been critical. Critics suggest that commonly used assessment instruments are inaccurate, misused, and lack predictive validity. This article describes valid criticisms and appropriate uses of assessment instruments. It also lists challenges and provides…

Colleges throughout the United States are evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies used to decide whether to place students into college-level or developmental education courses. Developmental, or remedial, courses are designed to develop the reading, writing, or math skills of students deemed underprepared for college-level courses, a…

We examine the impact of remedial and developmental courses on college students with varying levels of academic preparedness, thus focusing on a wider range of students than previous studies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we provide causal estimates of the effects of placement in different levels of remedial courses on short-,…

This study attempts to ascertain if the WebCAPE placement exam can be used to measure improvement in an upper division grammar course. The WebCAPE online placement exam is a widely used instrument designed to help university language programs place students into the basic language course best corresponding to their proficiency level. This is done…

This study explores different variables leading to proficiency in English as a second language. Level of English on a placement exam taken upon entering a private university in Mexico was correlated to several variables. Additionally, participants (N = 218) were asked their perception of their own proficiency. A linear regression and a one-factor…

An English placement test (PT) is an essential component of any foundation program. It helps place students into their suitable language proficiency level so that they do not spend time learning materials below or above their levels. It also helps teachers to prepare teaching materials to students of similar levels (Brown, 2004; Illinois, 2012).…

This paper reports on the development and piloting of an adaptive, online placement exam that will be administered to L2 and heritage learners of Spanish at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Particular attention is given to the structure of the exam and the linguistic strategies employed to distinguish heritage speakers from L2 learners.…

A significant challenge in higher education is to narrow the educational attainment gap between academically prepared and unprepared students. To this end, developmental or remedial education is intended to improve the academic skills and knowledge of students who are unprepared for undergraduate coursework, particularly in the areas of…

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the design and piloting of a branched, online placement and credit examination that measures receptive as well as productive and creative language abilities in the heritage language of college students entering the Spanish for Heritage Learners Program at the University of Houston, a major…

After surveying 1,827 students in their final year at eighty randomly selected two-year and four-year public and private institutions, American Institutes for Research (2006) reported that approximately 30 percent of students in two-year institutions and nearly 20 percent of students in four-year institutions have only basic quantitative…

In recent years, many tertiary institutions have been changing their pen-and-paper English placement test practices into computer based ones. In the process of constructing the University of Nicosia (Intercollege) New English Placement Test Online (NEPTON), we discovered how to redesign our test to include the use of technology. The present…

Brantmeier [Brantmeier, C., 2006. "Advanced L2 learners and reading placement: self-assessment, computer-based testing, and subsequent performance." 'System 34" (1), 15-35] found that self-assessment (SA) of second language (L2) reading ability is not an accurate predictor for computer-based testing or subsequent classroom performance. With 359…

Developed a computerized adaptive language proficiency test for a community college in Quebec, Canada and obtained item response theory calibrations on the items from 700 to 800 administrations. Describes projected efforts to detect instances in which "cheating low" (answering incorrectly deliberately) occurs. (SLD)

Describes computer-based placement tests developed at the second language institute at the University of Ottawa, Canada using Ficelle. Students in the French as a second language program were tested using either the computer-based test or a pencil-and-paper test. Statistical analysis indicated no significant differences between the two test…

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The "Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education" provides higher…