This study conducts a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of OpenAI's language model, ChatGPT 4, for grading Task 2 writing of the IELTS exam. The objective is to assess the alignment between ChatGPT's grading and that of official human raters. The analysis encompassed a multifaceted approach, including a comparison of means and reliability…

Regarding the whispered use of technology in instruction and assessment of language skills, the present study investigates the effect of e-portfolio assessment on EFL learners' speaking proficiency. To this end, 60 intermediate students were randomly selected and homogenized to participate in the study. Samples of the IELTS speaking tests were…

In the process of measuring and assessing high-level cognitive skills, interference of rater errors in measurements brings about a constant concern and low objectivity. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of rater training on rater errors in the process of assessing individual performance. The study was conducted with a…

The main purpose of this quantitative-qualitative content analysis study was to compare IELTS and TOEFL listening and reading tests based on the representation of the learning objectives of Revised Bloom's taxonomy. To this end, 12 Academic IELTS listening and reading tests and 12 TOEFL iBT listening and reading tests were analyzed qualitatively…

The relationship between motivation and EFL proficiency is an issue of great concern in previous research on foreign language learning. However, work in this area offers inconclusive evidence with regard to the directionality of their relations. Using cross-lagged structural equation modeling, this study investigated the directionality of the…

Uysal's article provides a research agenda for IELTS and lists numerous issues concerning the test's reliability and validity. She asks useful questions, but her analysis ignores the uncertainties inherent in all language test development and the wider social and political context of international high-stakes language testing. In this response, I…

Gender has been a controversial issue which affects the language learning process. McNamara (1996) has proposed that there are some variables affecting second language performance one of which is sex. In much the same way, it has been reported that gender plays a role in the area of language testing (Brown, 2003; Lumley & O'Sullivan, 2005;…

Argues that teachers need to become "informed consumers" of standardized tests in order to influence decisions about test use and about ways to help students perform at their best. Six strategies for considering the content of a test form are presented. (LR)