Accompanying the still pervasive influence of the College English Test (CET), some universities in China, especially the higher-ranking ones, have in recent years devised and implemented their own local English testing regimes. This significant shift, however, has captured limited research attention. Building on considerations in local language…

This article examines the changes taken place over the decades after a test-based accountability system was in place and proposes an agenda for consequential research of the testing program. The article starts with a review of theories of test-based accountability (Supovitz, Journal of Educational Change 10:211-227, 2009) and a socially grounded,…

Best linear prediction (BLP) and penalized best linear prediction (PBLP) are techniques for combining sources of information to produce task scores, section scores, and composite test scores. The report examines issues to consider in operational implementation of BLP and PBLP in testing programs administered by ETS [Educational Testing Service].

In this research, we investigated the suitability of implementing "e-rater"® automated essay scoring in a high-stakes large-scale English language testing program. We examined the effectiveness of generic scoring and 2 variants of prompt-based scoring approaches. Effectiveness was evaluated on a number of dimensions, including agreement…

While much of the work in language testing is concerned with constructing quality tests in order to measure language knowledge in reliable and valid ways, there has been a significant movement in language testing research that examines tests in the context of their use in education and society. This line of research exits from the notion that…

Multiple uses of the same assessment may present challenges for both the design and use of an assessment. Little advice, however, has been given to assessment developers as to how to understand the phenomena of multiple assessment use and meet the challenges these present. Particularly problematic is the case in which an assessment is used for…

Licensure testing programs in the United States (e.g., nursing) face an increasing challenge of measuring the competency of internationally trained candidates, both in relation to their clinical competence and their English language competence. To assist with the latter, professional licensing bodies often adopt well-established and widely…

This study was designed to describe and analyze (1) the performance of foreign candidates taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test in relation to self-reported primary language (English vs. other), and (2) relationships between performance on the respective admissions tests and…

Between September 1977 and August 1979, inclusive, over 283,000 individuals took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) one or more times in an International or Special Center test administration, and designated a native country code, selected from a list of over 170 country codes provided in the TOEFL Handbook for Applicants. During…

This study was undertaken to develop guidelines for making interpretive inferences from scores on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), a norm-referenced test of English-language listening comprehension (LC) and reading (R) skills, about level of ability to use English in face-to-face conversation, indexed by performance in…

A procedure for evaluating the oral language proficiency of limited English proficient (LEP) secondary school students is presented. The sample consisted of 101 twelfth grade students randomly selected from high schools in the Dade County Public Schools (Miami, Florida), including 72 LEP students. These students were or had been enrolled in…

The first field testing of the Adult Basic Education Oral Language video tapes, conducted during 1968-69, included five television video lessons and used three testing conditions: a classroom condition with video exposure, a classroom condition with video exposure and follow-up drills conducted by a teacher, and a home condition with video…

Finnish university language centers are responsible for testing the foreign language proficiency of nearly all university students. It is important that students are assigned equitably to courses, including Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) courses. It is also important in LSP teaching for students' needs and opinions to be taken into account,…

The report presents findings concerning the language proficiency of elementary, middle, and high school students receiving bilingual services in the Las Cruces Public Schools (New Mexico). The report contains five sections: general information about the bilingual program in the school district; the Idea Language Proficiency Tests (IPT); results of…

As part of the current trend toward adopting modern, objective-standardized test methods in evaluating the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the schools of the Socialist Republic of Romania, this review of pedagogical literature makes available to the English-reading audience information that has appeared in Romanian materials.…