This study was designed to describe and analyze (1) the performance of foreign candidates taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test in relation to self-reported primary language (English vs. other), and (2) relationships between performance on the respective admissions tests and…

An investigation of the predictive power of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Cooperative Test Scores in French, German, and Spanish in relation to performance in student teaching is described, and criteria used by the raters to define successful performance are identified. Subjects were 103 students who completed foreign language teaching…

The use of factor analysis in examining the dimensionality of language tests is questioned and found to be problematic because it has a number of weak points which make it possible to manipulate results. Some of these weaknesses occur in the examinee selection sample, test selection, and the methods of extraction and rotation chosen. The use of…

Intended for teachers, this bibliography lists 3 books and 16 journal articles about evaluating writing. The works cover such aspects as the effects of praise and blame on student writing, the evaluation of composition without using grades, an evaluation system that promotes writing, procedures for evaluating writing, holistic reading in the…

The following papers are included in this volume dealing with issues and research in language assessment: (1) "Sociolinguistic Foundations of Language Assessment," by J. L. Ornstein-Galicia; (2) "Language Proficiency Assessment: Research Findings and Their Application," by C. Rivera and C. Simich; (3) "The Role of Grammar…

A review of literature on communicative competence reveals many meanings of the concept and of the way it should be used in second and foreign language instruction. In the literature there are two views: that communicative competence includes grammatical competence, and that it does not; or at least the ability to communicate one's meaning is…

The question has been raised whether various measures of language proficiency that concentrate on different aspects of language are equivalent. Studies have been conducted by various agencies comparing language proficiency assessment instruments. Of interest here are the BINL, LAS, and BSM tests. Because each test has a different set of criteria…

Materials are presented from a workshop designed to provide an opportunity for bilingual education researchers and practitioners to share knowledge, experiences, and concerns related to assessing language proficiency. The sessions included: (1) "Formal and Informal Evaluation of Oral English Language Skills," by William Russell; (2) "Assessing…

This teacher's edition of training materials on bilingual program planning, implementation, and evaluation focuses on testing instruments. The guide is part of a series directed at bilingual educators and intended for use in institutions of higher education and inservice teacher education programs. Training objectives, a pretest and posttest, and…

A few multi-dimensional items were found to be more efficient than a larger number of uni-dimensional items in tests for participant selection and evaluation of such compensatory educational programs as Title I. A multi-dimensional scaling technique is described which derives scores for each item on three dimensions, and allows multiple scores to…

Language tests were administered by videotape to 27 deaf children taught to sign English. The tests, one in manual English (ME) and the other in American Sign Language (ASL) each included twelve grammatical distinctions: two aspects of adjectival modification (opposition and ordering), two types of pluralization (is/are and indicative in ME, dual…

Because language delay tends to persist, is predictive of later learning problems, and is closely associated with psychiatric disorders, it is important to identify language delay as early as possible. In this study, language delay at age 2 was investigated in 502 children who attended physicians. Language assessment is not routinely carried out…

A symposium focusing on problems in the assessment of foreign or second language learning brought seven applied linguists together to discuss three areas of debate: communicative language testing, testing of English for specific purposes, and general language proficiency assessment. In each of these areas, the participants reviewed selected papers…

Designed for communication aides working under the direction of speech pathologists in Head Start and preschool centers in public schools, the handbook provides information on normal child development as well as speech, hearing, and language problems. Reviewed in the section on normal development are speech, phonemic, receptive language,…

Shows the need for extensive reading in FL teaching. Suggests a test which shows whether a student has actually read the material or has simply gained a superficial knowledge of it. Discusses advantages and disadvantages of multiple-choice. Suggests test exchange for interested teachers. Includes test on Steinbeck's "The Pearl." (Text is in…