This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature on the effects of cross-linguistic transfer on Spanish/English bilinguals' reading comprehension skills. The search yielded at least 90 studies in which participants were Spanish/English bilinguals aged birth to Grade 12. Researchers assessed participants' decoding and/or linguistic…

This longitudinal randomized-control trial investigated the effectiveness of scientifically based reading instruction for students with IQs ranging from 40 to 80, including students with intellectual disability (ID). Students were randomly assigned into treatment (n = 76) and contrast (n = 65) groups. Students in the treatment group received…

Performance of 31 deaf students (ages 7-17) on 15 language and literacy measures found that students scoring highest on a passage-comprehension measure also demonstrated greater proficiency on specific skills (such as reading more listed words). In addition, students who used Signing Exact English (SEE) for 5 years or more scored better than those…

Preparing worksheets is seen as a valuable source of motivation. Various examples are given, for reviewing vocabulary, for exposition of a reading text, and for checking on text comprehension. Using a sample, it is shown how a text can be reconstructed using a multiple-choice procedure. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

The multiple choice technique can test written and oral comprehension and linguistic competence at beginning and intermediate levels. Examples of test items concerning sounds, stress, vocabulary, and structures are presented, and brief comments on the items are included. (SW)

This paper is rooted in an expanded view of construct validity, whereby the role of testers does not end in the development phase of the language tests they employ. Rather, testers need to follow the uses of these tests and examine issues of utility, relevance, ethics, and interpretation. The studies reported here focused on three national…

A study evaluated the overall evaluative validity of the Four Skills Exam, a Spanish language proficiency test designed to ensure that bilingual education teachers in New Mexico can meet Spanish language demands in the bilingual education classroom. The test's construct validity was limited for several reasons. In designing a test capturing…

This guide provides descriptions of standards for assessing students' skills in French as a second language, accompanied by samples of student work in the four language skills (listening comprehension, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking) at each of nine competency levels. An introductory section discusses basic principles in reporting…

Diverse information is compiled to begin to address the question of how well students in Alaska are achieving. In 1987, each of the 55 districts in Alaska submitted results of its standardized testing program for Reading, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Mathematics Problem Solving, and Language Arts for the three school years from 1984-85…

This document consists of the separately published test booklet, two student answer booklets, and test administration guide for Alberta's beginning-level French as a second language test. The student test booklet contains instructions, largely in English, and questions, largely in French, on aspects of daily life in and out of school. Three…

Since the mid-1960s, the use of objective testing in education, and multiple-choice tests in particular, has increased dramatically in the Netherlands. Since the founding of the Dutch National Institute for Educational Measurement in 1968, the construction of many achievement tests has been concentrated there. This general changeover from…

This publication, part of an annotated bibliography of language teaching materials for Spanish, contains supplementary materials and readers with and without a recorded or visual component. It contains a contents list, the annotated entries, an index of authors, editors, compilers and adapters, and a title index. The first section lists…

This journal includes current information for English teachers (new publications, resource materials, textbooks, tests, and trends) and these articles: "Reliability in the Oral Bagrut Test" (Raphael Gefen); "A Methodological Approach to 'Rewrite Sentence' Drills" (Eliyahu Galore); "Translation as a Bagrut Subject"…

Papers include: "ESP Tests: The Problem of Student Background Discipline (J. C. Alderson, A. H. Urquhart); "The Lexical Richness of L2 Written Productions and the Validity of Vocabulary Tests" (P. J. L. Arnaud); "The Construction of a Modular Thematic Task Bound English Language Achievement Test Battery for Kuwait" (M. I. Baghdady); "The Fill-In…

Papers from a 1993 International Conference on Language in Education include: "A Language Development Approach to Education" (M. A. K. Halliday); Text, Talk, and Inquiry: Schooling as a Semiotic Apprenticeship" (G. Wells); "Chinese Orthography and Reading" (O. J. L. Tzeng); "Task-Centred Assessment in Language…