Rasch testlet and bifactor models are two measurement models that could deal with local item dependency (LID) in assessing the dimensionality of reading comprehension testlets. This study aimed to apply the measurement models to real item response data of the Iranian EFL reading comprehension tests and compare the validity of the bifactor models…

Background: A critical issue in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) lies in the significance of the validity of IELTS listening comprehension test (hereafter IELTS LCM). However IELTS listening validity has been investigated, it has not been investigated with reference to multiple sources of evidence regarding item internal…

Purpose: This study evaluated psychometric properties of 2 phonological awareness (PA) tests normed for hearing children when used with deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with functional hearing. It also provides an in-depth description of these children's PA. Method: One hundred and eight DHH children (mean age = 63.3 months) with cochlear…

The first aim of this study was to develop a computer adaptive EFL test (CALT) that assesses test takers' listening and reading proficiency in English with dichotomous items and polytomous testlets. We reported in detail on the development of the CALT, including item banking, determination of suitable item response theory (IRT) models for item…

This study compares two approaches to grammatical knowledge in language assessment: the structural view that regards grammatical knowledge as vocabulary and syntax (Bachman 1990), and the communicative view that perceives it as the binary combination of grammatical form and meaning (Purpura 2004). 1,491 second-year nursing students from eight…

This study investigated whether scores obtained from the online and paper-and-pencil administrations of the statewide end-of-course English test were equivalent for students with and without disabilities. Score comparability was evaluated by examining equivalence of factor structure (measurement invariance) and differential item and bundle…

The study was conducted with 3,385 participants who took an English language proficiency test as a partial requirement for entering a PhD program in different fields of education. This test has three sections which are grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension. To determine the construct validity of the test, a series of analyses were done.…

The present study investigated the factor structure of a field trial sample of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT). An item-level confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted for a polychoric correlation matrix of items on a test form completed by 2,720 participants in the 2003-2004 TOEFL iBT Field…

This paper concerns the divisibility of comprehension subskills measured in L2 listening and reading tests. Motivated by the administration of the new Web-based English as a Second Language Placement Exam (WB-ESLPE) at UCLA, this study addresses the following research questions: first, to what extent do the WB-ESLPE listening and reading items…

The issue of what exactly is measured by different types of reading items has been a matter of interest in the field of reading research for many years. Language teaching and testing specialists have raised the question of whether a reading test for foreign students wishing to enter a university in the United States should include questions…

This study assessed the factor structure of the LanguEdge™ test and the invariance of its factors across language groups. Confirmatory factor analyses of individual tasks and subsets of items in the four sections of the test, Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing, was carried out for Arabic-, Chinese-, and Spanish-speaking test takers. Two…