Taking a psycholinguistic perspective, this book investigates how second language (L2) learners' pragmatic abilities in English can be measured. It complements and extends earlier work on the testing of implicit and explicit grammar. The authors present a set of tests they developed using both well-established methods of measuring pragmatic…

Purpose: Working memory and linguistic knowledge are highly intertwined in language tasks. Verbal working memory in particular has been studied as a potential constraint on language performance. This, in turn, highlights the need for a clinical assessment tool that will assist clinicians in understanding individual children's performance in…

Critical language assessment (CLA) has been addressed in numerous studies. However, the majority of the studies have overlooked the need for a practical framework to measure the CLA dimension of teachers' language assessment literacy (LAL). This gap prompted us to develop and validate a critical language assessment literacy (CLAL) scale to further…

Background: In some professions, "wellness" has become shorthand for physical fitness and nutrition but dimensions outside the physical are equally important. As wellness models continue to materialize, a validated instrument is needed to substantiate the characteristics of a multidimensional wellness model. Purpose: This 2-pronged study…

The purpose of this article is to explore validity evidence and appropriate uses of the revised Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) designed to measure in-service teacher perspectives about technology integration in K-12 schools and classrooms. The revised TUPS measures 10 domains, including Access and Support; Preparation of Technology…

Preliminary findings indicate that positive relations between parents and teachers are associated with successful school outcomes for children. However, measures available to assess parent-teacher relations are scant. The current study examined validity evidence for the Parent-Teacher Relationship Scale-I (PTRS). Specifically, the internal…

The purpose of the present study was to extend the model of measurement invariance by simultaneously estimating invariance across multiple populations in the dichotomous instrument case using multi-group confirmatory factor analytic and multiple indicator multiple causes (MIMIC) methodologies. Using the Arabic version of the General Aptitude Test…

One consequence of test use in the English-language teaching community is the negative washback of tests on teaching and learning. Test preparation courses are often seen as part of the more general issue of washback. IELTS and TOEFL iBT tests, focusing on communicative competence, are anticipated to have positive washback effect on how English is…

This study employed Bachman and Palmer's (2010) Assessment Use Argument framework to investigate to what extent the use of a second language oral test as an exit test in a Hong Kong university can be justified. It also aimed to help test developers of this oral test identify the most critical areas in the current test design that might need…

Analyzed Suicide Intent Scale using data from 98 psychiatric inpatients who had attempted suicide. Analysis resulted in two-factor solution: Lethal Intent factor contained items pertaining to subjective level of lethal intent; Planning factor contained items related to objective planning for attempt. Findings suggest that Suicide Intent Scale can…

As an alternative to equally weighted difference scores, examined an orthogonal reliable component analysis (RCA) solution and an oblique principal components analysis (PCA) solution for the standardization sample of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC; A. Kaufman and N. Kaufman, 1983). Discusses the practical implications of the…

Studied the factor structure of the Need for Cognition Scale (NFC) (J. Cohen, E. Scotland, and D. Wolfe, 1955) (short form) with samples of 510 and 697 Australian adults. Results support the use of the short version of the NFC with Australian samples. (SLD)

The history, development, and empirical foundations of the Career Decision Scale are reviewed. Its uses in program planning and with special populations, as well as gender and cross-cultural issues, are discussed. Controversies over the factor structure are addressed. (SK)

Assessed construct validity of Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) as measure of general achievement in 208 children, aged 6-12. Results indicated that PPVT-R had substantial loadings on factors resembling Kaufman's (1975) Verbal Comprehension factor, while it consistently failed to load significantly on achievement-related factors.…

Inspection of the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III for four age groups from the standardization sample indicated a hierarchical arrangement of abilities when both two-factor and four-factor solutions were used. Both solutions indicated a strong general intelligence factor at all age levels studied. (SLD)