The examination of the testing mode effect has received increased attention as higher education has shifted to remote testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe the testing mode effect consists of four components: the ability to physically write on the test, the method of answer recording, the proctoring/testing environment, and the effect…

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate proficiency tests of the universities in Turkey in line with the ALTE Quality Assurance Checklists in terms of four dimensions: a. Test construction, b. Administration & Logistics c. Grading, Marking Results and d. Test Analysis & Post-examination Review. The study took place in four…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

Standardizing aspects of assessments has long been recognized as a tactic to help make evaluations of examinees fair. It reduces variation in irrelevant aspects of testing procedures that could advantage some examinees and disadvantage others. However, recent attention to making assessment accessible to a more diverse population of students…

People use external knowledge representations (EKRs) to identify, depict, transform, store, share, and archive information. Learning how to work with EKRs is central to becoming proficient in virtually every discipline. As such, EKRs play central roles in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Five key roles of EKRs in educational assessment are…

In spite of new methodologies in foreign language instruction, much testing is still of the traditional type. Paper and pencil tests are given, testing in exactly the same way the teachers themselves were tested. This article suggests 25 points for language teachers on all levels. (Author/PJM)

Multivariate generalizability techniques are used to bridge the gap between psychometric constraints and the tables of specifications needed in test development. Techniques are illustrated with results from the American College Testing Assessment Program. (Author/PN)

Discusses classical test theory, including test construction, administration, and use. Covers basic statistical concepts in measurement, reliability, and validity; principles of sound test construction and item analysis; test administration and scoring; procedures for transforming raw test data into scaled scores; and future prospects in test…

Argues that student assessment plays a crucial role in the academic life of college students, and assessment arrangements embody the purposes of higher education. Reviews research suggesting learners' perceptions of course testing procedures is the single most important influence on learning. Outlines six guiding principles of test development to…

Test theory encompasses models and methods for drawing inferences about what students know and can do, cast in a framework of ideas from measurement, education, and psychology. The emerging paradigm of cognitive psychology prompts new considerations about collecting and interpreting evidence, suggesting alternative models for the nature,…

Noting that the attention of the speech communication discipline to listening skills does not mirror the apparent importance of such skills, this paper examines five listening assessment tests--focusing on the strengths, weaknesses, procedural problems, and conceptualizations of each--that potential users should be aware of before selecting any…

Suggests that any model of washback must include insights from the theory of educational innovation to help explain why tests do not always have the desired or feared effect. Key concepts in educational innovation are reviewed, showing how these concepts are manifested in a case study in washback and outlining how they are being applied in recent…

Testing and assessment in English-for-Academic-purposes (EAP) contexts has traditionally been carried out as a needs analysis of learners or a content analysis of courses. This article reassesses this approach to the development and validation of EAP tests on the basis of a theoretical model and recent research into content specificity. (VWL)

The goal of test design is to devise an instrument that will provide a stable and accurate assessment of student ability in some area. One means of reaching this goal is through the use of latent trait models, which determine the relationship between the unobservable trait or ability and the observable test performance. Three common latent trait…

The purpose of the present research was to study, systematically, the "goodness-of-fit" of the one-, two-, and three-parameter logistic models. We studied, using computer-simulated test data, the effects of four variables: variation in item discrimination parameters, the average value of the pseudo-chance level parameters, test length,…