In spring 1988, 103 bilingual/English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and ESL-only school districts in New Jersey participated in a study to establish norms for the Language Assessment Battery (LAB) and Maculaitis Assessment Program (MAC) in grades K-12. This manual is designed to provide local district staff with the study's results and to make…

This preliminary report of an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) pronunciation test carried out at Telemark College in Norway is first of all a description of the difficulties Norwegian students have with regard to the pronunciation of Received Pronunciation (RP) vowels and consonants. An attempt also is made to predict areas of possible…

This monograph contains one-page profiles for 49 language usage tests for the assessment of writing. These tests are indirect measures and evaluate students ability to recognize standard English usage. The profiles are arranged alphabetically by test name. The profiles contain the following elements: (1) name of the test, (2) date of publication;…

In order to accurately assess the learning of vocabulary words, a criterion of learning achievement must be set for each word or group of words. This criterion would reflect: (1) the amount of semantic, grammatical, and phonological information the learner had to possess in order to have learned the word; (2) the receptive and productive processes…

This study examines two kinds of French language tests originating from the Threshold-Level (T-Level) or Niveau-Seuil theory of language learning in the context of several linguistic and testing concepts: discrete-point testing with regard to notions and functions from T-Level theory, communicative context, and assessment of listening…

This report investigates the selection of appropriate texts for C-Tests, a modified form of the cloze test, for assessing second language learning. The procedure for textbook readability first involved the administration of different texts to sample groups to determine the C-test difficulty of individual texts. At the same time, a variety of…

This research study explores the concurrent and predictive validity of the English language proficiency screening test used by the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and the relationship of this measure to academic performance. It is concluded that (1) evidence of the predictive validity of the test supports its use for efficiently…

Classroom language has not yet been recognized as an important aspect of foreign language learning and teaching, but it can make a meaningful contribution to language instruction. Providing for teacher training in this field not only implies provision of information and practice, but also involves changing teacher attitudes about the…

This study investigated the construct validity of five perceptual traits (auditory discrimination, visual discrimination, visual memory, visual-motor coordination, and auditory to visual-motor coordination) with five simulated work samples (union assembly, resistor reading, budgette assembly, lock assembly, and nail and screw sort) from the Jewish…

Part I discusses the many benefits of having an item bank of four-option multiple-choice questions for test construction in English language instructional programs. The advantages of the item bank include: increased effectiveness, efficiency, and professionalism among teachers and administrators in test development, design, writing, review, and…

The two most commonly used language proficiency tests offered in the United States by foreign countries' chambers of commerce are those of Spain and France. The Spanish test has been introduced recently and has no rigorous and uniform set of rules governing its administration at all centers. Issues arising from the administration of this exam…

This paper presents a history of Danish studies in reader response research, including the addition of questionnaires to the research. The paper describes nine studies in reader response research, including information on their stages, persons responsible, supporters, funding institutions, internal reports, and publications. Five additional…

A study attempted to estimate the instructional sensitivity of items in three reading comprehension tests in English as a second language (ESL). Instructional sensitivity is a test-item construct defined as the tendency for a test item to vary in difficulty as a function of instruction. Similar tasks were given to readers at different proficiency…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, examines implications of research on assessment procedures for limited-English-proficient (LEP) handicapped students. The discussion includes a report on a longitudinal study to identify techniques that effectively distinguish between LEP students who are handicapped and…

A discussion of the evaluation of writing in English as a second language looks at conflicting approaches and viewpoints in the literature and suggests strategies for classroom evaluation. Conflicts are found in the literature concerning the importance of writing evaluation, the types of assessment to be used, and procedures for scoring writing…