Practical considerations associated with local norms development are discussed. A local norming project administering the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised to 398 elementary Mexican--American children is presented in detail. The utility of local norms and their interpretation is discussed in the context of this local project. (Author/BW)

Examines an integrative approach for teaching communicative competence among first-year students learning a second language (Spanish). Results of the study indicate that those students who participated in regularly scheduled individual interviews with the instructors improved their oral communication skills considerably more than those who did…

Discusses a study of the relative benefits of a year-long reading comprehension course for English as a foreign language students, compared with an intensive summer course using the same curriculum. Students were separated into groups according to their language abilities. Although improvement in both cases was nearly equal, the summer course is…

Presents the history of the development of instruments to test both English proficiency and limited-English-proficient candidates to determine those most likely to successfully complete a machine shop training program. Lists the competencies required at the time of enrollment and provides samples of the tests. (SED)

Linguistic and statistical analyses of cloze tests as a measure of second language competence revealed qualitative and quantitative differences between the performances of Anglophone immersion and French control groups. The diagnostic limitations of the procedure and the usefulness of the linguistic information derived from it are discussed. (MSE)

This book describes how ESOL tests and test users have changed greatly in the past few decades. Some widely used ESOL tests have been revised, with a number of new tests incorporating advances in computer technology. In addition, many more ESOL practitioners than in the past are responsible for selecting and using tests. The authors introduce…

This brief article reports information gathered at a symposium on issues and challenges in assessment and accountability for adult English language learners, hosted ny the National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE). Teachers, program administrators, researchers, test developers, and policy makers gathered to discuss the field's vision for…

Objective public testing methods were brought into use in language programs in the 1930s, primarily to justify decisions to exclude unqualified students from high school foreign language classes. In the United States, after World War II, government language programs supported research into the assessment of language aptitude to improve selection…

Discussion of the use of language aptitude tests for United States government workers looks at the learner types they must assess and contexts in which a newly-learned language will be used. In general, employees selected for language learning are either current employees already productively engaged in second language use or new hires with…

Recent developments in cognitive and educational psychology, such as increased appreciation of the situated nature of learning and understanding, call for broader ranges of student models and types of data than those standard in testing today. We must specify how what we observe on the test is related to competence as we conceptualize it, and…

For a long time, much research has been devoted to the analysis, development and planning of language testing for specific purposes (Douglas, 2000; Skehan, 1984) and their communicative orientation (Davies, 2001). Unfortunately, very few teachers and instructors are fully aware of the incidental issues that should account for when designing in…

The Kidtalk Interactive Diagnostic Test of Aptitude for Language Knowledge (KIDTALK) is an assessment instrument designed for identifying children with specific language impairments not associated with limited English proficiency. It is based on three principles: (1) a language disorder can be identified by testing an individual's potential for…

It is recommended that students of Chinese as a second language be introduced to characters corresponding to new vocabulary, rather than be taught to recognize characters after the words themselves are learned. An approach that breaks each character into its smallest meaningful units, then reassembles them into proper position to form characters,…

This paper argues that visual aids should be used in teaching and testing language. It has been scientifically demonstrated that visuals allow for greater cognitive mapping and navigating in an environment. Visuals are a good and useful tool for examination purposes, because they lead the learner to draw out language from their own knowledge and…

The paper describes the system of rater comments used in an American College Testing (ACT) Program English language test designed for use with Japanese secondary school students learning English as a foreign language. The writing portion of the test consists of two short essays, each scored by two native speakers of North American English, using a…