Over the past decade, the LLAMA language aptitude test battery has come to play an increasingly important role as an instrument in research on individual differences in language development. However, a potentially serious problem that has been pointed out by several scholars is that the LLAMA has not yet been carefully validated. We addressed this…

Originally designed to measure reading and passage comprehension in L1 readers, cloze tests continue to be used for L2 assessment purposes. However, there remain disputes about whether or not cloze items can measure beyond local comprehension information, as well as whether or not they are purely a test of reading alone, or if performance can be…

In the present study, language performance on standardized assessments (e.g., overall verbal performance, receptive and expressive vocabulary) and spontaneous language produced in play was compared between preschool-aged boys with autism spectrum disorder ([subscript n]ASD, n = 25) and boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS, n = 16). At the…

This chapter introduces the learner profiles and the sociocultural roadmap of participating Chinese graduate students. The learner profiles illustrate the demographic and linguistic background of each participating student. Their lived experiences include pre-departure experience (i.e., learning the English language as a foreign language),…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to introduce the Clinical Forum--Exploring Curriculum-Based Language Assessment and Interventions, which investigates the current evidence supporting curriculum-based language intervention and assessment. Method: This introduction highlights the need for speech-language pathologists to approach intervention…

Background: Assessment is an essential part of any learning process; however, it is often disliked by most students. A wealth of research is available on issues on assessment, such as washback effect and test anxiety, and yet we know little about what students conceive of assessment. The objective of this case study was to explore a group of…

Migration as a social phenomenon has always been a part of the world, but it has never reached such scope as in the recent years. Violent conflicts, instability, poverty and natural disasters force people to move in search of protection and better life. In 2017, about one million first instance decisions were issued in EU, most of which were…

Listening is one of the basic language skills that must be possessed by student in elementary teacher education study program. As a teacher candidates, listening ability can be used as knowledge for student in teaching practice in elementary school. The listening ability is still relatively low. Listening ability for students its important, so…

The main goal of this research is to achieve fairer assessment of students' knowledge and skills in tests in view of the fact that learners with similar abilities are often assigned different test grades if their achievements are borderline cases between two grades. As an example, a student who has scored 29 points out of 60 in a test will fail,…

This article presents a review of the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language--Second Edition (CASL-2), in which reliability, utility, and validity are analyzed and discussed. Some limited recommendations for practice are made based on a review of the information provided by the publisher for clinicians.

Purpose and background: The purpose of this paper is to critically review the traditional and contemporary validation frameworks--the content, criterion, and construct validations; the evidence-gathering; the socio-cognitive model; the test usefulness; and an argument-based approach--as well as empirical studies using an argument-based approach to…

Pronunciation presents a significant, persistent challenge to second language (L2) learners (Derwing & Munro, 2015; Piske, McKay, & Flege, 2001). Fortunately, pronunciation instruction works (Lee, Jang, & Plonsky, 2015). However, pronunciation receives relatively little attention in language classrooms. Further complicating the matter…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2019 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2019…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2019 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2019…

Recent research in the areas of second language testing and learner corpus research has provided increased insight into linguistic features of various score levels and into the meaning of a test score (Cushing, 2017; Knoch & Chapelle, 2018). However, language testing researchers have asserted the need to select linguistic features that are…