Analyzes gender-uniform differential item functioning (DIF) in a second language vocabulary test with the tools of item response theory to study potential gender impact on the test performance measured by different item composites. Results show that while there are test items with indications of DIF in favor of either females or males, the test as…

Reports the outcomes of two English-as-Foreign-Language assessments for Dutch primary school students with regard to listening, reading, and word knowledge. The assessments have provided important insights into the possibilities and limitations of foreign language teaching and learning. (Author/VWL)

Presents principles behind the construction of English-as-Second-Language (ESL) standards for schools, drawing on examples of ESL standards developed in Australia, England, Wales, and the United States. Examines how differences in purposes in these standards--planning, professional understanding, and reporting--influence how ESL standards might…

Describes the design and implementation of a computer-based listening test--the "Text dictation." The article first discusses the importance of listening centering on a coherent text, rather than short listening fragments, and discusses drawbacks of listening programs wherein the required responses consist of noninteractive test types, such as…

Addresses issues surrounding the effect of mode of presentation on second language (L2) reading test performance, reviewing the literature in cognitive ability testing in educational and psychological measurement and the non-assessment literature in ergonomics, education, psychology, and first language reading research. Generalization of the…

Examines the need to keep constant the optic, the framework within which AEI definitions are written. Both the Interagency Language Roundtable Language Skill Level Descriptions and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages guidelines are revised and more fully specified. (Author/JL)

Examines the dual challenges teachers often face: (1) testing the theoretical assumptions made by the authors of textbooks; and (2) evaluation of achievement tests that have been developed for use with those textbooks. Addresses these issues in the context of the use of an English-as-a-Foreign/Second-Language pronunciation textbook and achievement…

Reports five studies that provide initial insight into the black box of classroom testing. The studies investigate various aspects of perceptions and practices of assessment in the language classroom. (Author/VWL)

Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of computer-based language tests, explores in detail developments in Internet-based testing using the examples of the Test of English as a Foreign Language and DIALANG--an innovative on-line suite of diagnostic tests and self-assessment procedures in 14 European languages--and outlines a research agenda for…

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)

Discusses how to tackle the problem of determining a meaningful score for yes-no tests used to measure the size of receptive vocabulary. Signal Detection Theory is applied, and a new more accurate index is suggested. (Author/VWL)

Reports findings from a study in two stages to trial tests of vocabulary size in English as an additional language. The first stage trialled the Levels test and the Yes/No test. In the second, the Levels test was used with students aged 13 and 14 years. Results of the tests show a different profile of scores for EAL than occur in typical…

Discusses using students' native language (L1) versus second language in testing instruments for reading comprehension in the second language (L2) classroom. Students of college-level Spanish were tested under different conditions involving combinations of the L1 and L2. Suggests using open-ended reading comprehension tests if some questions are…

Discusses the relationship between the terms psycholinguistics and applied linguistics, and in the process explores key issues in multilingual processing, such as the structure of the bilingual lexicon, language choice in production and perception, and the language mode. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the choice of an English placement test. Suggests that English language screening decisions need to be examined from within the context of a particular institution's situation. Provides questions to be addressed before choosing an appropriate screening device. (Author/VWL)