The differential effects of language proficiency on standardized test performance of elementary school students (grades 4 through 6 are examined for the San Diego (California) Unified School District. Ethnicity is examined as a mediating variable circumscribing the relationship between language proficiency and test performance. Test performance is…

In response to state legislation and a statewide strategic plan that included a recommendation for quality standards and accountability defined as measurable goals and conditions, model standards for California English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) adult education programs were established. This document describes general standards, defines language…

A study was planned to generate a model for testing second language education that would incorporate task types to allow the display of fluency. It is argued that the display of oral fluency can be used as a selection criterion for inclusion of test items in multitask or portfolio assessment. The following three research questions were formulated:…

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC®) is an ETS-developed measure of proficiency in English as a second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL), designed to assess aspects of English language listening comprehension (LC) and reading comprehension (RC). In general samples of native speakers of Japanese, Korean, French,…

The development and field testing of a proficiency test in English as a Second Language for non-native speakers teaching on Guam is reported. The resulting instrument measures four language skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking). The listening measure uses natural language that might be heard by a classroom teacher. The reading measure…

A study examined the differences in the way teachers use grammar-based courses and communicative courses of English language instruction in Dutch primary schools, and the differences in the achievement levels of children taught by the various methods. Eight standard curricula commonly used in Dutch schools and using either communicative or…

The Rasch model for test analysis is a latent-trait model, which specifies the relationship between observable test performance and the unobservable traits or abilities assumed under test performance. In most cases, the test constructor has no clue as to whether the latent traits postulated by the model are indeed the abilities he wants to…

A replication of a previous study assessed the construct validity of a national test for academically oriented Swedish upper secondary students. The analysis consisted of a comparison of test results of 10 percent of the Swedish test population to results obtained from a sample of native English speakers of the same age. Analyses of the Swedish…

A study investigated the use of a narrative discourse task to test oral English proficiency in non-native speakers for screening and placement. The subjects were Japanese university freshmen entering a five-level course in spoken English. The subjects were shown an animated cartoon of a Japanese folk tale, with narration in Japanese, and later…

Since standardized tests of English foreign language seem to lack external validity, a new test, the New Cloze Test (NCT), was developed and validated as a placement test for foreign students. Details of the test design, including paragraph preparation, word deletion, and recommended methods for administration and scoring are discussed. Subjects…

This paper discusses the role of intelligence in language comprehension. In the study reported, an attempt is made to determine how much of the variability in English reading scores of non-native speakers of English can be predicted on the basis of intelligence alone. In the study, three measures of reading comprehension are used: a traditional…

A study was conducted that was designed to determine if experienced ESL (English as a second language) teachers, working in pairs, can reach the same judgments regarding the oral proficiency of non-native speakers of English and to determine the reliability of such judgments. In addition, the question of whether different sets of judges rate…

The Spanish/English Language Performance Screening (S/ELPS) was designed to assist the preschool and early elementary classroom teacher in objectively determining each child's dominant oral language for initial instruction. This report summarizes the development and testing performed in order to revise and validate the measure. After an intensive…

Methods of assessing children's oral language ability are explored in this paper. Following a discussion of problems involved in the formal assessment of oral language ability, a study is described that revealed that the evaluation of the oral language of 12 kindergarten children in the social context of the natural classroom environment,…

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…