In this research report, we describe a study to map the scores of the "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test to the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB). The TOEFL Essentials test is a four-skills assessment of foundational English language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. At the time of writing this…

The redesigned "TOEIC Bridge"® tests are designed to measure the reading, listening, speaking, and writing proficiency of beginning to low-intermediate English learners in the context of everyday adult life. This report describes the comprehensive and multifaceted process used to enhance the meaningfulness of TOEIC Bridge test score…

The Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) is a statewide assessment system that embodies Nebraska's holistic view of students and helps them prepare for success in postsecondary education, career, and civic life. It uses multiple measures throughout the year to provide educators and decision-makers at all levels with the insights…

Although there has been substantial work on argument-based approaches to validation as well as standard-setting methodologies, it might not always be clear how standard setting fits into argument-based validity. The purpose of this article is to address this lack in the literature, with a specific focus on topics related to argument-based…

New Meridian Corporation has developed the "Quality Testing Standards and Criteria for Comparability Claims" (QTS) to provide guidance to states that are interested in including New Meridian content and would like to either keep reporting scores on the New Meridian Scale or use the New Meridian performance levels; that is, the state…

The 2018 Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) Summative technical report documents the processes and procedures implemented to support the Spring 2018 NSCAS Summative English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science assessments by NWEA under the supervision of the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). The technical report…

This paper presents an approach to standard setting that combines the prototype group method (PGM; Eckes, 2012) with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The combined PGM-ROC approach is applied to setting cut scores on a placement test of English as a foreign language (EFL). To implement the PGM, experts first named learners whom…

In language programs, it is crucial to place incoming students into appropriate levels to ensure that course curriculum and materials are well targeted to their learning needs. Deciding how and where to set cutscores on placement tests is thus of central importance to programs, but previous studies in educational measurement disagree as to which…

Standard setting theory has largely developed with reference to a typical situation, determining a level or levels of performance for one exam for one context. However, standard setting is now being used with international reference frameworks, where some parameters and assumptions of classical standard setting do not hold. We consider the…

In this research, the cut score of a foundation university was re-calculated with bookmark method and with Angoff method, each of which is a standard setting method; and the cut scores found were compared with the current proficiency score. Thus, the final cut score was found to be 27.87 with the cooperative work of 17 experts through the Angoff…

The article addresses some problems and options in setting standards on language tests and examinations. More specifically, it reports on a set of three workshops conducted in the European context where standard setting in language education typically concerns linking tests and examinations to the Council of Europe's "Common European…

When implementing standard setting procedures, there are two major concerns: variance between panelists and efficiency in conducting multiple rounds of judgments. With regard to the former, there is concern over the consistency of the cutoff scores made by different panelists. If the cut scores show an inordinately wide range then further rounds…

Cut-scores were set by expert judges on assessments of reading and listening comprehension of English as a foreign language (EFL), using the bookmark standard-setting method to differentiate proficiency levels defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Assessments contained stratified item samples drawn from extensive item…

Considerable research about standard setting has revolved around a U.S.-centric policy context. That is, over the past decade, conclusions about thought processes and the interaction of education policy and panelists' judgments have been based on assumptions of comparable policy settings. However, whether these assumptions generalize to other…

The Yes/No Angoff and Bookmark method for setting standards on educational assessment are currently two of the most popular standard-setting methods. However, there is no research into the comparability of these two methods in the context of language assessment. This study compared results from the Yes/No Angoff and Bookmark methods as applied to…