While numerical bipolar rating scales may evoke positivity bias, little is known about the corresponding bias in verbal bipolar rating scales. The choice of verbalization of the middle category may lead to response bias, particularly if it is not in line with the scale polarity. Unipolar and bipolar seven-category rating scales in which the…

The significance of assessment in driving learning is undeniable, particularly in oral assessments like viva voce where students express themselves verbally. However, traditional viva voce examinations' challenges include reliability, objectivity, content validity, time constraints, varying question difficulty levels, inconsistency in questioning…

Modest correlations between teacher-assigned grades and external assessments of academic achievement (r = 0.40-0.60) have led many educational stakeholders to deem grades subjective and unreliable. However, theoretical and methodological challenges, such as construct misalignment, data unavailability and sample unrepresentativeness, limit the…

The purpose of this study was to design an instrument for five- to six-year-old children to help measure their verbal reasoning skills and assess the validity and reliability of the resulting instrument. For this purpose, the researchers have created the Younger Children Verbal Reasoning Test (YCVR-test) and a control instrument, which have been…

Subconsciously, experienced teachers make use of situated knowledge: knowledge that is connected to, and arises from, the interactions between the physical environment where the action takes place and a material body acting in that environment. Since situated knowledge is important in day-to-day teaching to solve incidents, it should be taught in…

The objective of present research is to conduct validity and reliability analysis of the verbal section of Test of Pretended Play that will measure pretended play behaviors of pre-school age children (3-6 years of age). Test of Pretended Play was first developed by Vicky Lewis and Jill Boucher in 1997. This test aimed to measure pretended play…

The development of phonological awareness (PA), the ability to reflect on the sound structure of words independent of their meaning, has been extensively explored in English-speaking children. However, this is not the case for other languages. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive PA test battery for German-speaking preschool…

This study determined the degree to which the Non-Language Test of Verbal Intelligence, developed to measure verbal ability through a nonlanguage medium, could measure verbal intelligence. Correlation with the Differential Aptitude Test-Verbal suggested the existence of some common, as well as some uncommon, factors between the two tests.…

A study investigated the reliability and validity of the partial dictation test, a combination of dictation and cloze procedure, to measure foreign language listening comprehension. Subjects were 78 students of English as a Foreign Language in the second year of high school in Spain. Students listened to a passage from a commercial reader three…

The manual for the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Revised (1986) is reviewed. The test measures a child's knowledge of relational concepts. The revised version, eliminating some imperfections of the original, will continue to be a useful test of verbal concept acquisition. Cautions necessary while using the test are discussed. (SLD)

The oral interaction examination used by Britain's Royal Society of Arts for testing communicative use of English as a foreign language is described. The underlying principles of the test, its structure, administration, issues of reliability and validity, and scoring are outlined. Three components of the test itself are included. One component is…

Issues in testing proficiency in languages for special purposes (LSP) are examined in the context of the development of an advanced oral test in Japanese for tour guides. The test, designed at an Australian university for use in the Australian tourism industry, was to be designed to evaluate both language proficiency and skills in appropriate…

Questions often raised about intelligence tests are discussed: (1) the definition of intelligence; (2) the definition of intelligence quotient; (3) the kinds of tests available; (4) validity; (5) fairness to minority groups; (6) use made of test results; (7) differences in results among various intelligence tests; (8) differences in scores using…

This guide contains descriptive and evaluative information on 47 major commercially-available English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) tests in current use around the world. For each test, the following information is provided: complete title; acronym; publication date; targeted audience; intended purpose; scoring method; administration type (group or…

An examination of the principles and techniques of oral testing in British university-level final examinations in modern languages discusses: (1) the shortcomings of present oral testing procedures; (2) the theoretical controversy surrounding the design and value of oral proficiency tests, arising from research in English as a second language…