Foreign language aptitude is defined as one's potential to learn a second language. A language learner with higher aptitude is predicted to learn more, faster, and reach a higher level of proficiency. If this is the case, one way to validate the construct of aptitude and its measure is to conduct a validation study in which measures of aptitude is…

This study aimed to compare the accuracy of the test scores as results of Test of English Proficiency (TOEP) based on paper and pencil test (PPT) versus computer-based test (CBT). Using the participants' responses to the PPT documented from 2008-2010 and data of CBT TOEP documented in 2013-2014 on the sets of 1A, 2A, and 3A for the Listening and…

Alternative approaches are discussed for use of e-rater[R] to score the TOEFL iBT[R] Writing test. These approaches involve alternate criteria. In the 1st approach, the predicted variable is the expected rater score of the examinee's 2 essays. In the 2nd approach, the predicted variable is the expected rater score of 2 essay responses by the…

A good test is one that has at least three qualities: reliability, or the precision with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure; validity, i.e., if the test really measures what it is supposed to measure, and practicality, or if the test, no matter how sound theoretically, is practicable in reality. These are the sine qua non for any…

A good test is one that has at least three qualities: reliability, or the precision with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure; validity, i.e., if the test really measures what it is supposed to measure; and practicality, or if the test, no matter how sound theoretically, is practicable in reality. These are the sine qua non for…

This study investigates the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), in particular the relative contributions to score dependability (analogous to classical theory reliability) of various numbers of items and subtests as well as the decision dependability at different cut points. Research questions that apply to the overall TOEFL battery and…

Score equating requires that the forms to be equated are functionally parallel. That is, the two test forms should rank order examinees in a similar fashion. In language proficiency testing situations, this assumption is often put into doubt because of the numerous tests that have been proposed as measures of language proficiency and the…

Statistical analysis tools in language testing are described, chiefly classical test theory and item response theory. Computer software for statistical analysis is briefly reviewed and divided into three tiers: commonly available; statistical packages; and specialty software. (Author/VWL)

The one-parameter psychometric model known as the Rasch model is described and examined. The basic principles underlying the model and the concepts of unidimensionality, local stochastic independence, and additivity are explained in non-mathematical terms. The requirements of measurement procedures, the measurement of latent traits, the control on…

Describes a study which submitted data from a multiple-choice English as a second language reading comprehension test to classical test theory item analysis and latent trait measurement. The purpose was to identify weak items and to compare the number of weak items indicated by the two different approaches. (SED)

A general issue related to language program development involves the empirical rationalization of cut score decisions in criterion-referenced language tests. Cut score dependability focuses on the consistency of the decisions in repeated testing or the assessment of language learner performances. In this case, the issue is to determine the optimal…

Reviews recent theoretical, methodological, and analytical developments in language testing, focusing on more refined models of language ability, reliability and validity, performance testing, innovative test formats, new applications of Item Response Theory and Generalizability Theory to test performance. An annotated bibliography discusses seven…

The present study was designed to examine whether or not traditional procedures concerning item selection and reliability are both applicable and appropriate for criterion-referenced (CR) tests. It was also designed to examine traditional procedures and those designed especially for CR testing in relation to test variance and item homogeneity.…

This paper outlines the development of a performance assessment measure of language speaking ability, the Language Ability Assessment System (LAAS), which is highly reliable and can be examined for reliability through modern measurement theories, such as generalizability theory (G-theory) and the many-facet Rasch theory. LAAS was developed to…