In this speech, the author covers a lot of ground. In the first half of his speech, the author gives a brief summary of the last 40 years of the history of language testing, from his perspective. The author reviews these years more or less by decade. Additionally, he discusses the evolution of the profession of language testing during this period,…

Reports on a study done to test the validity of the Test of Spoken English (TSE) in evaluating foreign nursing graduates. Results show that the TSE is a valid measure of oral proficiency in the nursing profession and that it is possible to establish professionally-based standards of proficiency. (SED)

The development and validation of the Spanish-English Verbatim Translation Exam (SEVTE) is described. The test is for use by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the selection of applicants for the positions of Language Specialist or Contract Linguist. The report is divided into eight sections. Section 1 describes the need for the test,…

The simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI) is a semi-direct speaking test that models the format of the oral proficiency interview (OPI). The OPI is a method of assessing general speaking proficiency in a second language. The SOPI is a tape-recorded test consisting of six parts: simple personal background questions posed in a simulated…

Variables that constitute translation ability are discussed, based on a two-year development and validation study of job-related tests of translation ability for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The project involved the development of two parallel forms of the Spanish into English Verbatim Translation Exam (SEVTE). (five references) (LB)

The Listening Summary Translation Exam (LSTE)-Spanish is designed to assess the ability to comprehend and summarize in written English recorded conversations spoken in Spanish. Language and topics of the exam are representative of conversations the Federal Bureau of Investigation routinely monitors. This test consists of two subtests, one…

Describes the development and validation of the Portuguese Speaking Test, a simulated oral proficiency interview that uses a semidirect approach to examine proficiency in personal conversation, direction-giving, description, narration, topical discourse, and real-life situations. (CB)

This project extended the application of a model for development of semi-direct tests of oral proficiency, originally developed for Chinese, to a diverse set of less commonly taught languages spanning various language families and representing diverse cultural backgrounds. This second, final report covers development of tests for Hebrew, Hausa,…

Outlines research necessary for determining the validity and reliability of Test of Written English, an essay test that directly measures writing ability and complements Test of English-as-a-Foreign-Language's (TOEFL) indirect assessment of writing skills. Research should cover such aspects as construct, criterion-related, concurrent, content, and…

Reports on an alternative approach to the face-to-face interview for eliciting speech samples to evaluate second-language proficiency, discussing the reliability and validity of the Indonesian Speaking Test, an example of the tape-mediated simulated oral proficiency interview method. (18 references)(CB)

The ability of the Rasch model computer program BIGSTEPS to perform concurrent calibration and differences in the outcomes between vertical equating using a common item anchoring method and a common item concurrent calibration method was examined. The data for the investigation came from two Chinese language tests that researchers wished to…

Presents a validation study on the Hausa Speaking Test (HAST), a simulated oral proficiency interview. Addressed validity of the HaST through examination of the ratability on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale of elicited speech sample and an investigation of the nature of probes on the HaST through speaking…

The development and validation of a Portuguese oral language test are described. The test consisted of five item types: personal conversation, giving directions, description of picture sequences, topical discourse, and oral task completion based on printed instructions. Three preliminary forms of the test were administered to a group of language…

This report describes the development, construction, and validation of the Preliminary Chinese Proficiency Test (Pre-CPT), a standardized, nationally-normed test of listening and reading comprehension for beginning-level native English-speaking learners of Chinese as a second language. The Pre-CPT was designed as a lower-level version of the…