A meta-analysis was conducted on the effects of multiple-choice and open-ended formats on L1 reading, L2 reading, and L2 listening test performance. Fifty-six data sources located in an extensive search of the literature were the basis for the estimates of the mean effect sizes of test format effects. The results using the mixed effects model of…

In recent years, improvements in technology have enhanced the possibilities of teaching and learning various subjects. This is specially the case in foreign language instruction. The use of technology and multimedia brings new opportunities for learning different areas of language. In this regard, the present study attempts to find out if the use…

The purpose of the present study was twofold. Firstly, it tried to investigate the relationship between the technical English proficiency of the students of Mechanical Engineering in the universities of Iran and their technical translation proficiency in translating technical texts of Mechanics. Secondly, it attempted to evaluate the effectiveness…

Mixed-format tests containing both multiple-choice and constructed-response items are widely used on educational tests. Such tests combine the broad content coverage and efficient scoring of multiple-choice items with the assessment of higher-order thinking skills thought to be provided by constructed-response items. However, the combination of…

This article deals with some of the problems that have hindered the application of Samejima's and Thissen and Steinberg's multiple-choice models: (a) parameter estimation difficulties owing to the large number of parameters involved, (b) parameter identifiability problems in the Thissen and Steinberg model, and (c) their treatment of omitted…

The problem. The purpose of this study is to investigate positive and negative cross-linguistic transfer on EFL learners' phraseological competence in collocations and its relationship to learners' linguistic proficiency. Method. A quantitative study was conducted. Two instruments, multiple choice test and grammaticality judgment test, were…

Speech act theory-based, second language pragmatics testing (SLPT) raises test-validation issues owing to a lack of correspondence with empirical conversational data. On the assumption that conversation analysis (CA) provides a more accurate account of language use, it is suggested that CA serve as a more empirically valid basis for SLPT…

The GED[R] English as a Second Language (GED ESL) Test was designed to serve as an adjunct to the GED test battery when an examinee takes either the Spanish- or French-language version of the tests. The GED ESL Test is a criterion-referenced, multiple-choice instrument that assesses the functional, English reading skills of adults whose first…

This study focused on examining the effect of two alternative school types on student success in Mississippi. To determine alternative school type, alternative program directors self-reported program design, and schools were divided into two groups. Type I schools were defined as "punitive-based" programs in which students receive…

The present study revisited the issue of simultaneous attention to form and meaning from a methodological perspective that addressed several potential methodological issues of previous research in this strand of inquiry. Seventy-two second-semester-level participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups, including a control,…

This study investigated the relative frequency of seven TW strategies among Iranian EFL students to find out probable relationship(s) between test-wiseness, proficiency and gender. To do so, out of 138 participants, a total number of 80 undergraduate EFL students from Shahid Chamran University were chosen and divided on the basis of their…

States that "objective tests" are based on suppositions. Different types yield different results; therefore they cannot all be objective. The commonly accepted idea that multiple-choice tests are the most objective is attacked. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Guidelines that language teachers need to write valid multiple choice items/questions for vocabulary tests and exams are presented. A sample test is accompanied by an analysis of possible answers to each question. (LB)

The author uses a brief discussion of the many seemingly successful attempts to find a context for Chomsky's supposedly meaningless sentence Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," as a starting point for a discussion of devising multiple choice vocabulary tests where the correct choice is clear and unambigous. (FB)

The present study provides an overview of the impact of standardized EFL tests on EFL education in Korea. To achieve this goal, the paper (1) presents the status quo of EFL testing in the Korean context, (2) explores the nature of the EFL tests prevalent in the EFL testing market, and (3) investigates the overwhelming washback effects of EFL tests…