The training of teachers is one of the most critical factors in improving the quality of teaching and assessment in the classroom. EFL teachers need to be literate in language assessment; this can be achieved through training. A total of 147 Junior High School EFL teachers was surveyed to identify their training needs in assessmen. Semi-structured…

Testing Spanish speakers presents certain challenges common to all testing circumstances involving test takers whose first language is not English. In addition, some unique challenges arise because there are many subpopulations of Spanish speakers both inside and outside of the United States. Spanish as spoken in Spain differs from that spoken in…

Generally speaking, the main purposes of second language tests are survey; didactic, psychological or sociological research; and evaluation, the latter being the concern of this paper. Evaluation tests measure the knowledge the learner has of the second or foreign languages, and may be subdivided into the following categories: (1) aptitude tests,…

This bibliography is intended to provide a selective list of references on the cloze procedure and its application to teaching English as a second language. Part one of the bibliography includes seven general references on the cloze procedure in general, i.e., research reviews and bibliographies. These were chosen because they provide extensive…

This unit of work is designed to provide the participant with an overview of the purposes, methods, and techniques for testing English as a Second Language (ESL) and practical classroom applications. Given the series of learning alternatives on testing that are presented in this module, the participant should be able to: (a) demonstrate knowledge…

An overview of the system analysis approach to evaluation and the psychometric models currently proposed to evaluate Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I projects is presented. It is argued that, in America's Pacific possessions, the sole use of the systems analysis approach to evaluation fails to provide adequate information to…

Summarizes some of the findings of recent study of tests designed to determine the English language proficiency of nonnative speakers. (CFM)

The matching cloze format used in constructing the reading comprehension parts of the Micronesian Achievement Test Series (MATS) is described as a holistic approach which measures skills comparable to those needed by English as a second language students in actual reading situations. Kenneth Goodman's theory about the strategies used by good…

This three-part paper consists of: (1) an annotated bibliography of tests for English as a Second Language and for learning ability, (2) a bibliography about second language testing, and (3) a list of ten principles for test construction and administration for those who wish to write their own tests. The bibliographies are not exhaustive, but the…

The use of the cloze procedure by classroom teachers who are not extensively trained in testing in general or language testing in particular is discussed. Focal points are material selection for cloze; some technical aspects of construction and administration; insights about testing language students naive to cloze; reliability of cloze…

The twofold objective of this book is to enable the teacher of English to speakers of other languages both to improve his own classroom measures and to make sound assessments of standardized tests which he may from time to time be asked to select, administer, and interpret. Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the general purposes and methods of language…