This paper synthesizes ideas from the fields of graphical modeling and education testing, particularly item response theory (IRT) applied to computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Graphical modeling can offer IRT a language for describing multifaceted skills and knowledge, and disentangling evidence from complex performances. IRT-CAT can offer…

The validity of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) was examined for foreign students enrolled in U.S. graduate schools. Subjects included 1,353 foreign students for whom English was a second language (ESL) and 42 foreign students whose native language was English. The relationships between college departments' scores on the GRE General Test…

This paper reports on Educational Testing Service research studies investigating the parameters critical to reliability and validity in both the direct and indirect writing ability assessment of higher education applicants. The studies involved: (1) formulating an operational definition of writing competence; (2) designing and pretesting writing…

This paper discusses the relationship between language proficiency and intelligence. In particular, the paper is concerned with the elements of intelligence testing which creep into tests designed to determine language proficiency, and the proliferation of testing of all types and the kinds of interpretations made of these tests. Particular…