This study examined the semantic features of the simulated mini-lectures in the listening sections of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) based on automatized semantic analysis to explore the content validity of the two tests. Two study corpora were utilized, the IELTS…

The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) is a multi-level, multi-purpose Chinese proficiency test developed by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (previously the Office of Chinese Language Council International and, henceforth, referred to by its colloquial name "Hanban"). It assesses reading, writing, and listening skills of…

This mixed methods study examined holistic, analytic, and part marking models (MMs) in terms of their measurement properties and impact on candidate CEFR classifications in a semi-direct online speaking test. Speaking performances of 240 candidates were first marked holistically and by part (phase 1). On the basis of phase 1 findings--which…

As a result of the fact that judgments of non-native speech are closely tied to social biases, oral proficiency ratings are susceptible to error because of rater background and social attitudes. In the present study we seek first to estimate the variance attributable to rater background and attitudinal variables on novice raters' assessments of L2…

The aim of this paper is to investigate from a discourse analytic perspective task authenticity in the speaking component of the Occupational English Test (OET), an English language screening test for clinicians designed to reflect the language demands of health professional-patient communication. The study compares the OET speaking sub-test…

This study describes the development and validation of the Extract the Base test (ETB), which assesses derivational morphological awareness. Scores on this test were validated for 580 monolingual students and 373 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in third through fifth grade. As part of the validation of the internal structure,…

Discusses the reliability and validity of different measures of lexical richness in various language data research and computer simulations, and examines the behavior of these measures in spontaneous speech data of first language and second language children learning Dutch, aged 4 to 7, compared with their lexical abilities as measured by tests.…

Examination boards are often criticized for their failure to provide evidence of comparability across forms, and few such studies are publicly available. This study aims to investigate the extent to which three forms of the General English Proficiency Test Intermediate Speaking Test (GEPTS-I) are parallel in terms of two types of validity…