Rater comments tend to be qualitatively analyzed to indicate raters' application of rating scales. This study applied natural language processing (NLP) techniques to quantify meaningful, behavioral information from a corpus of rater comments and triangulated that information with a many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) analysis of rater scores. The…

Purpose: This review article is focused on the following research questions: RQ1: What are the methods used by authors to collect data in order to evaluate one's profile? RQ2: What are the classification algorithms and ranking metrics used to give suggestions to users? RQ3: How effective are these algorithms and metrics identified in RQ2?…

The accuracy of placement results undoubtedly affects students' subsequent learning achievements in language programs. Although there has been a growing body of studies in the field of heritage language (HL) education, research on HL placement remains scarce, and little is known about the most appropriate and effective ways to place heritage…

Placement tests are used to support a particular need in a local context--to determine the best starting place for a student entering a specific programme of language study. This brief report will focus on the development of an innovative placement test with self-directed elements for our local needs at a university in Canada for students studying…

Research suggests that using only standardized placement test scores to determine which new college students should take developmental coursework is inadequate, as many students may be unnecessarily assigned to developmental courses. These courses generally take one or more semesters to complete, delaying entry into college-level coursework, and…

This paper analyses the relationship between translational technology and learning outcomes and investigates the type of translational technology most beneficial towards students' translations of legal texts. This study tests whether differences were found in the learning outcomes of legal text translation for students with high and low placement…

This study details the development of a local test designed to place university Spanish students (n = 719) into one of the four different course levels and to distinguish between traditional L2 learners and early bilinguals on the basis of their linguistic knowledge, regardless of the variety of Spanish they were exposed to. Early bilinguals…

Concept maps are powerful tools used to reveal challenges in students' learning. However, their use introduces complexities when a large group of students' conceptualizations need to be examined. In this study, concept maps of 344 general chemistry students were analyzed after grouping them based on achievement in chemistry, math proficiency, and…

First Language (L1) has been assumed to play a role in Second Language ability (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). However, the interplay between them across skill, task, or scoring criteria is more complex (Hamp-Lyons & Davies, 2008). Using Many-Facets Rasch Measurement, this study investigates the main effects of examinee ability, rater severity,…

This paper reports how high failure rates in the first quantitative course that college business majors take were significantly reduced by implementing course-embedded remediation. More specifically, this paper details our process for identifying students at risk, placing them in special sections of the first quantitative course, and adding an…

This paper is aimed at resolving the problem of inadequate level of foreign language proficiency of students in non-language institutions of higher education and discussing effective approaches and methods to improve foreign language instruction at tertiary schools. An analysis of the problem by means of mixed research methods revealed the need to…

The Elicited Imitation Test (EIT) is widely recognized for its reliability in research settings as a proficiency assessment tool. However, there exists a need to examine its predictive validity in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. This study investigates the extent to which the EIT, alongside the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), can…

Foreign language placement testing, an important component in university foreign language programs, has received considerable, but not copious, attention over the years in second language (L2) testing research (Norris, 2004), and it has been mostly concentrated on L2 English. In contrast to validation research on L2 English placement testing, the…

During this COVID-19 pandemic, no one can deny the value of online communication. It has saved our lives by preventing us from going outdoors and becoming infected, while also facilitating achievement of various personal and professional goals. Online communication can also assist us with our academic goals, whether it is used to communicate with…

This study focused on adults who were previously remedial students while enrolled in a higher education institution. The goal was to understand the perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of adults who were previously in remedial higher education courses. Students who have been deemed as not college-ready fell into a few categories such low…