bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing
Cantonese
Authors: Chan Wing Sat
Published: November 2013

This chapter covers four aspects of the topic: first, a sociocultural account of Cantonese and how this regional dialect in southern China gained its L1 position for formal education in Hong Kong, which has been an effective biliteral and trilingual society from the 1970s to the present. Second, linguistic representation of Cantonese in terms of the tone system, including tonal structure, intonation, and phonetic system, with particular reference to the notion of tone change; and written representation of Cantonese in nonstandardized Chinese characters widely used for newspapers, play scripts, and advertisements. Third, Cantonese in education, covering the issue of medium of instruction, the role of Cantonese in training of skills, and Cantonese in public examinations: the aptitude test while moving from primary to secondary; the Chinese language proficiency test on language skills and attainment test on Chinese literature at the end of secondary education; and the exit test for university students in which Chinese writing is one of the major components. These language tests are evaluated in terms of test validity, reliability, norm reference, criterion reference, and level of proficiency. Fourth, the challenges to the status of L1 Cantonese in Hong Kong from two aspects: the promotion of Putonghua as the medium of instruction for Chinese subjects at all levels, and the uses of English for wider communication in the trend of globalization.
Norm‐Referenced Approach to Language Assessment
Authors: Bae Jungok
Published: November 2013

Comparing two things is one of the most basic human intellectual activities. A variety of techniques have been developed to make this activity more accountable and contextually relevant. The norm‐referenced (NR) approach to assessment provides a standard for comparisons. This chapter covers the NR approach to language assessment. The first section addresses the purpose of NR assessment and score interpretation; the second, test development in the NR framework, including NR test content, score variations, and item analysis. The third section addresses types of norms, such as the normal curve, percentiles, and standard scores including
z
scores,
T
scores, and stanines. Examples of language tests and score interpretations are incorporated throughout the chapter. Challenges and future directions are suggested.
International Assessments
Authors: Takala Sauli , Erickson Gudrun , Figueras Neus
Published: November 2013

This chapter deals with international assessments from a language‐specific (first and second language [L1 and L2]) as well as a methodological and policy‐related perspective. Starting with the systematic and comparative assessments initiated in the late 1950s by the International Association for the Assessment of Educational Achievement (IEA), attention is also given to surveys conducted within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU). Studies touched upon include the Six Subject Survey in the 1970s; the Study of Written Composition in the late 1980s; the Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in the 2000s; a 2002 survey of English proficiency at the end of compulsory education in eight European countries, initiated by the European Network of Policy Makers for the Evaluation of Education Systems; Building a European Bank of Anchor Items for Foreign Language Skills (EBAFLS), funded by the EU in 2004–7; and finally the European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC), conducted in 2011. A wide range of issues and discussions related to international assessments is dealt with, and partly expanded on, encompassing definitions of purpose and construct (the latter partly related to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [CEFR]), task development, aspects of translation, sampling and scoring procedures, and administration forms, as well as analytical options and choices, interpretation and dissemination of results, and, last but not least, different aspects of consequences for different stakeholders, or impact in a wide sense, at individual, educational, and societal levels.
Classical Theory Reliability
Authors: Brown James Dean
Published: November 2013

This chapter defines and explains classical theory (CT) reliability approaches to test score consistency with the ultimate goal of helping readers decide whether CT reliability is appropriate for their particular tests and score interpretations and, if so, which CT reliability strategy they should use. The chapter begins with discussions of (a) the relationship between reliability and norm‐referenced tests (NRTs), (b) the historical roots of CT reliability, and (c) the basic logic of CT reliability. The chapter then explains the proportions‐of‐reliability approaches to CT reliability; that is, test–retest reliability, equivalent‐forms reliability, and internal‐consistency reliability (including split‐half reliability, the Spearman–Brown prophecy formula, Kuder–Richardson formulas 20 and 21, or K‐R20 and K‐R21, Cronbach's alpha, and the inter‐rater, intra‐rater, and alpha variants of rater reliability). The chapter then turns to error‐estimation approaches to CT reliability, including the standard error of measurement (SEM) and confidence intervals (CIs). The chapter concludes with a table that summarizes all of the CT reliability approaches covered in the chapter, with an eye to helping readers determine which reliability statistic(s) they might want to use in a given testing situation.
Acoustic and Temporal Analysis for Assessing Speaking
Authors: Kang Okim , Pickering Lucy
Published: November 2013

Objectively measurable features of a speaker's speech are certainly relevant to true score variance in assessing speaking skills. Ideally, speech proficiency scores should be more a function of the comprehensibility of speakers' pronunciation and the degree to which speakers' discourse is responsive to the communicative demands of the tasks. Speech science has made progress toward identifying acoustic features of pronunciation that affect comprehensibility. It has become common for elements of speech accent to be detected by instrument and computer‐assisted acoustical analysis (e.g., Computer Speech Laboratory [CSL] or Praat), which characterizes different accents by examining patterns of fundamental frequencies or F0formants. Until somewhat recently, research examining characteristics of second language (L2) speech production had been concerned with phonemic segmental phenomena, that is, the “accuracy” of non‐native speaker (NNS) consonant and vowel formation . Accordingly, acoustic characteristics of those productions had mainly focused on single parameters of English: vowel duration differences in voicing contrast, acoustic vowel spaces, and voice onset time of stop consonants. Currently, however, the consensus is moving toward an appreciation of the role that differences in speaking rates, intonation patterns, and other prosodic features (suprasegmentals) may play in intelligibility and listeners' assessments. Non‐native temporal (e.g., pause structures) and acoustic patterns (e.g., tone choices) account for native listeners' perception of L2 English learners' speech as “accented.” Acoustic parameters combining rate, pauses, and intonation of speech have been also conjointly investigated for assessing NNS' oral proficiency. This chapter starts with a brief background to acoustic analysis in applied linguistics, introduces various speech recognition and acoustic parameters used in assessing speaking, and illustrates application processes and examples of those analyses. It explores new conceptualizations of acoustic measures in speaking assessment and discusses challenges of this approach and future directions.
Assessing Pragmatics
Authors: Roever Carsten
Published: November 2013

This chapter discusses assessment of second language (L2) pragmatics. It outlines the construct of L2 pragmatic knowledge, discusses previous test development projects, and critically examines them in terms of content coverage. It argues for testing a broader construct of interlanguage pragmatics beyond speech acts, implicature, and routine formulas. It also discusses elicitation instruments like discourse completion tests (DCTs), role plays, and multiple choice tests. Finally, it outlines challenges for future test development, including problems of test practicality, the co‐construction of interaction, the effect of the test situation on performance, and the representativeness of social situations covered in the test.
Task‐Based Language Assessment
Authors: Van Gorp Koen , Deygers Bart
Published: November 2013

This chapter first outlines the theoretical rationale behind task‐based language assessment (TBLA) and discusses why it remains a contested domain within language testing. The construct and key features of tasks in TBLA are reviewed, with particular attention to the use of TBLA for both summative and formative purposes. Both these purposes are illustrated by means of two extended case studies. The first of these focuses on formative TBLA in the context of Dutch‐speaking primary education. It shows how the rating scales and parameters for analyzing task performance in TBLA help the teacher in fulfilling his or her pedagogic responsibilities. Summative use of TBLA is discussed in the second case study about a centralized task‐based test of Dutch. It centers around such topics as defining the target language use, performing a needs analysis, and making inferences based on task performance.
Accommodations in the Assessment of English Language Learners
Authors: Abedi Jamal
Published: November 2013

This chapter describes accommodations used in the assessment of English language learner (ELL) students nationally in the USA and presents a summary of studies on different aspects of accommodations for these students. The chapter elaborates on special characteristics of accommodations and how they can properly be used. Many accommodations that are currently being used for ELL students may not be supported by research evidence and may not be useful in making assessments accessible to ELL students. These issues regarding accommodations for ELL students are discussed and recommendations for the proper use of accommodations are provided.
Assessing Reading
Authors: Grabe William , Jiang Xiangying
Published: November 2013

The goal of reading assessments is to provide feedback on the skills, processes, and knowledge resources that represent reading abilities. Reading assessments are used for many purposes. However, any appropriate use of reading assessments begins from an understanding of the reading construct, an awareness of the development of reading abilities, and an effort to reflect the construct in assessment tasks. In this chapter, we will first define the construct of reading. Then we will present a straightforward framework that categorizes many uses and purposes for reading assessment, including standardized reading proficiency assessment, classroom reading assessment, assessment for learning, assessment of curricular effectiveness, and assessment for research purposes. For each category in the assessment framework, we will outline and describe a number of major assessment techniques. Finally, we will explore some innovative techniques for reading assessment and discuss challenges and issues for reading assessment.
Defining Constructs and Assessment Design
Authors: Jamieson Joan
Published: November 2013

This chapter describes the evolution of constructs and illustrates current construct issues that affect the design of second language assessments. To understand the termconstructbetter, the chapter begins with historical overviews presented from two perspectives. First, educational and psychological measurement ideas are reviewed in terms of theStandards for Educational and Psychological Testing(theStandards). TheStandardshave represented a consensus among American scholars and practitioners on what information is most helpful and important for guiding the development and use of tests. Second, language testing ideas are reviewed using theStandardsas a backdrop. In both overviews, we can see shifts in meaning that have led to our current state.

The second part of the chapter discusses four inter‐related issues that affect current and future designs of second language assessments: the relationship among measure, construct, and theory; a move away from the 1999Standardsview of construct validity and toward an argument‐based approach; the way one's worldview affects the construct definition; and the way the inferences we want to make from test scores are influenced by the test developer's view both of the world and of validity.

By better understanding the various meanings ofconstructin second language assessment, test score users, students, and researchers alike should be alerted to look beyond the term itself, and examine the nuances of its use. As test developers adopt an argument‐based approach to validity, they should be aware thatconstructsare not always necessary in assessment design, but if they are included there is a responsibility to define them in relation to a model or a theory, and to examine the predicted relations.
Content Analysis
Authors: Galaczi Evelina D.
Published: November 2013

This chapter provides an overview of content analysis (CA), which is a methodological tool for the systematic analysis of text, and explores its use in second language (L2) assessment research. The chapter discusses important considerations in conducting a content analysis investigation, including types of units, sampling, coding, and analysis, and elaborates on key steps in doing a CA. The chapter also situates the use of CA within considerations of validity and reliability, as well as quantitative and qualitative research considerations, and focuses on methodological criteria used for evaluating CA investigations. Throughout the chapter frequent exemplification is provided of the application of CA to L2 language testing research, and the chapter ends with a detailed discussion of two L2 assessment research studies which utilize CA in exploring L2 assessment research questions.
Classroom‐Based Assessment Issues for Language Teacher Education
Authors: Leung Constant
Published: November 2013

In recent years there has been an increasing professional and policy interest in classroom‐based assessment. This chapter focuses on some of the key conceptual and professional issues associated with classroom‐based assessment from the point of view of language teacher knowledge and practice, with particular reference to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages.

The discussion will,inter alia, cover the following issues: assessment for different purposes; validity and reliability; perspectives on language and language learning in relation to assessment; and curriculum content in language assessment. These issues will be addressed with language teacher education in mind. Specific considerations related to classroom‐based assessment will be foregrounded where appropriate. The discussion will draw on relevant work in language education and educational assessment, in addition to the research literature in second language assessment.
AssessingArabic
Authors: Gebril Atta , Taha‐Thomure Hanada
Published: November 2013

This entry briefly describes the current L1/L2 Arabic language assessment practices in both academic and professional settings. The first section provides a historical and linguistic background on Arabic as well as consideration of its current status. The second section looks briefly at the teaching and learning of Arabic in different parts of the world. The core section presents a critical analysis of the different assessment practices in L1/L2 Arabic. It also offers a list of L1/L2 Arabic assessment resources that teachers can consult. The final section provides some conclusions about assessment‐related challenges facing professionals in the field of Arabic language teaching and future directions to be considered.
Achievement and Growth in the Classroom
Authors: Kieffer Michael J.
Published: November 2013

Language educators frequently ask questions about students’ progress, learning, or development—that is, about their growth in achievement over time rather than simply about their levels of achievement at a given time. This chapter describes three central issues in assessing and describing growth in achievement for language learners. The first issue revolves around modeling growth appropriately to distinguish students’ rates of growth from their initial levels, while isolating true growth parameters from the measurement error involved in assessment at any given point in time. The second issue involves addressing threats to the validity of inferences about gains in achievement. The third issue involves addressing the relationship between content knowledge and language proficiency in order to support valid inferences about the constructs of interest.
Assessing Writing
Authors: Crusan Deborah
Published: November 2013

This chapter provides a brief historical overview of writing assessment, which “demonstrates the vacillation of method in writing assessment and the rationale for changes made in writing assessment.” Additionally, the chapter presents an examination of the contemporary issues at work in writing assessment including feedback; assessment literacy; writing placement with a particular focus on directed self‐placement; rating, raters, and rating scales; and machine scoring. Finally the chapter addresses some challenges in writing assessment comprising the construct of writing, the tension between various stakeholders (students, teachers, researchers, and members of the measurement community), and the use of rubrics in writing.
Questionnaire Development and Analysis
Authors: Phakiti Aek
Published: November 2013

The reason for the popularity of the questionnaire lies in its cost, time efficiency, and anonymity. The number of participants to which a questionnaire can reach out (i.e., its breadth) makes up for its potential lack of depth in investigating issues which are offered by other techniques, such as multiple interviews or observations. This chapter provides an introduction to questionnaire development and questionnaire analyses for language assessment use and research purposes. The premise of this chapter is that if researchers are to use a questionnaire for a particular assessment or research purpose appropriately, they ought to know what it can and cannot do. The chapter first discusses contexts in which questionnaires can be used to elicit information from test takers, students, research participants, or other stakeholders. It then presents the limitations of questionnaires. The typical stages in questionnaire development and use are outlined, followed by essential skills and strategies for constructing and analyzing a questionnaire. Selected examples of questionnaires in published research are then discussed.
Government and Military Assessment
Authors: Brooks Rachel L. , Hoffman Mika
Published: November 2013

The chapter explores government and military language testing with its purposes, perspectives, and challenges. It focuses on the US context, but includes information about government and military language testing elsewhere as well. The chapter includes a history of government and military language testing, its context and purposes, and explores different types of testing, including aptitude, proficiency, and performance testing, with particular attention paid to the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Challenges for government language testing are discussed, and the chapter concludes with a section on intergovernmental cooperation.
Multifaceted Rasch Analysis for Test Evaluation
Authors: Barkaoui Khaled
Published: November 2013

This chapter provides a conceptual introduction to Rasch models and their potential applications in language test evaluation, with a specific focus on the multifaceted Rasch model (MFRM). In the MFRM, factors in the assessment setting (e.g., task, test taker, rater) are called facets. The MFRM uses the ratings that raters assign to test‐taker performance to provide parameter estimates for each facet (e.g., rater severity, task difficulty, test‐taker ability). Each facet is calibrated from the observed scores and all facets are placed on a single common linear scale called a variable or facets map. An example focusing on an English writing test is used to illustrate the main points discussed in the chapter and the applications and advantages of the MFRM. The chapter also discusses some of the main issues in Rasch approaches to test evaluation.
Consequences, Impact, and Washback
Authors: Cheng Liying
Published: November 2013

Within a set of relationships, large‐scale high stakes testing induces consequences for its stakeholders—intended and unintended, positive and negative—between testing, teaching, and learning. At the core of this phenomenon lies the (mis)use of test scores and of the values and stakes attached to a test in society and within the pedagogical context where a particular test exists. Washback and impact in applied linguistics refer to two levels: “impact”—the effects of tests on macro‐levels of education and society, and “washback”—the effects of tests on micro‐levels of classroom teaching and learning. Over the past two decades empirical research has established the relationship between testing and teaching; this period has seen an increasing number of studies on learning and learners, as well as on other stakeholders such as publishers, parents, and employers; and studies have increasingly focused on the importance of contextual factors in testing. The challenges for future research relate to the call for collecting validity evidence from multiple stakeholders by using multiple methods to understand this complex phenomenon.
AssessingNorth American Spanish
Authors: Salaberry M. Rafael
Published: November 2013

Over the last 50 years Spanish has become the predominant second language of choice in the academic context in the US. Although Spanish is taught at all levels of the US curriculum (from elementary to college level), it is mostly at the college level that a variety of standardized tests appeared; and these tests are used at the national level to assess second language competence in general. Arguably some limited progress has been made in the assessment of Spanish. Nevertheless, the two biggest challenges continue to be (1) a clear description of the theoretical construct that represents competence in Spanish as a second language; and, concomitantly, (2) the identification of efficient procedures for measuring the target construct. This chapter describes these challenges and argues that the responsibility for improving the assessment models should be shared by testing agencies and academic institutions.
Introspective Methods
Authors: Sasaki Miyuki
Published: November 2013

The chapter introduces three typical introspective measures (think‐aloud reports, immediate recalls, and stimulated recalls) that have been used in language assessment (LA) research mainly to elicit test takers' and test raters' thinking processes. First, it briefly touches upon how and why introspection became a legitimate research target in the humanities in general, then in applied linguistics, and later in the LA field. Because of the combined influences of behaviorism and structuralism after World War II, the LA field had long viewed the use of qualitative data such as introspection in research as somewhat suspicious. However, under the influence of information processing perspectives and the sociocultural orientation in applied linguistics, and most importantly through the redefinition of “test validity” in language testing itself, some recent LA studies have begun using introspection measures for the purpose of investigating how the test products (e.g., scores) are actually brought about. This evolution can also be related to the epistemological changes advocated by some researchers in the concept of assessment itself (e.g., dynamic assessment).

The three measures listed above are operationally defined, and some possible advantages and disadvantages of each method when applied to LA research are discussed. Selected studies illustrate how these methods have been adopted in past research. The dos and don'ts that prospective researchers should bear in mind when planning to use these methods in their studies are also presented. The chapter concludes by mentioning several possible directions that future studies could take and that might benefit not only those involved in test development and administration but also those concerned with language education in general.
Assessing
Spanish
Authors: Rodríguez José Ramón Parrondo
Published: November 2013

Spanish is a Romance European language which expanded through Spain's colonization of vast territories in the Americas and is now shared by some 500 million speakers across the world. Although Spanish shows a degree of regional variation, its structure, rules of grammar, and spelling are consistent and uniform. This is partly thanks to normative language policies which have fed into universal schooling systems and, more recently, worldwide accessible media, which has helped to neutralize geolectal varieties. As a first language, teaching, learning, and assessment tend to focus more on formal aspects of grammatical knowledge than on practical issues of language in use. As a second or foreign language, however, teaching methodologies and assessment schemes have been influenced by developments in the field of English language teaching and the popularization of the CEFR in Europe. Standardized international Spanish language tests include the Argentinian CELU, the Spanish DELE, and the Mexican EPLE. In the USA, a wide range of tests for school and professional use is commercially available, the National Spanish Exam being one of the most popular. As the demand for learning Spanish increases worldwide, language teaching and assessment services are set to diversify and expand, and the challenge will be to develop professional, sustainable, and accountable practices in the sector.
Assessing the Oral English Abilities of International Teaching Assistants in the
USA
Authors: Farnsworth Timothy
Published: November 2013

This chapter focuses on an important problem at many US research universities: ensuring that the oral English skills of potential graduate teaching assistants can support the effective teaching of undergraduates. The chapter begins with a description of the problem, drawing from the author's experiences at a large public research university. This is followed by a review of available literature on the type and level of proficiency required of international teaching assistants (ITAs), which is quite different from that required of a typical university graduate student. The chapter briefly reviews some commonly used assessments for this purpose, and concludes with an in‐depth discussion of the development and implementation of an authentic mock‐teaching exam developed by the author and currently in use at two major American research universities.

The aspects discussed include the scope of the problem; the type and level of language proficiency required for successful undergraduate teaching; the assessments or decision‐making processes commonly used in this context; and common situational constraints that affect ITA assessment decisions and decision‐making procedures. The chapter ends by considering how one large institution improved its assessment system and what the primary challenges were, and recommending best practices for institutions, based on the author's experiences.

This chapter will be a useful reference and overview of the topic for those involved in ITA education and assessment programs at all levels, but particularly at large research institutions with many international graduate students. It will also be useful to those involved in other language for specific purposes (LSP) testing situations such as the assessment of health‐care professionals’ English abilities.
Assessing Test Takers With Communication Disorders
Authors: Oller John W.
Published: November 2013

Communication disorders involve difficulties in understanding or getting messages across—difficulties that are either abnormally severe, or persistent, or both. The complexity of testing any knowledge, skill, or ability is increased when the persons assessed have one or several communication disorders. The valid identification and diagnosis of such disorders requires prior understanding of development and communication and, in most instances, also a prior language assessment. Because accidental success in ordinary discourse processing becomes vanishingly unlikely as tasks increase in complexity, successes in discursive tasks are more informative than failures. The severity of any disorder cannot be greater than the highest level of success attained in whatever performance the disorder tends most to disrupt.
AssessingItalian
Authors: Bolli Giuliana Grego
Published: November 2013

The aim of this chapter is to present an outline of national policies and institutional experiences in relation to the assessment of Italian, both as L1 and L2, dealing with different aspects and raising some issues. The synthetic description of Italian, its history, and its main features presented at the beginning of the work will introduce both the Italian language and the academic tradition of Italian linguistics. This will help to explain the lack of interest shown so far by scholars and researchers in language assessment and particularly in empirical research.

The chapter then distinguishes between the assessment of Italian as L1, within the Italian educational system, and as L2 in Italy (as a second language) and abroad (as a foreign language).

The assessment of Italian as a second language has become an increasing area of interest during the last decade, particularly in relation to the immigration context and, more recently, to the new Italian regulation that introduced formal language assessment for long‐term residency. The risk of using formal testing in such a context, examining some areas of weakness of the new regulation in test production and administration, is discussed.

The assessment of Italian as a foreign language is focused on the certification experience. It examines the contribution to the promotion of a more systematic approach to language assessment by the four Italian institutions working in this area.

Finally, consideration is given to the future challenges that language assessment will face. In relation to this, more research and empirical studies are needed, particularly on the impact that language assessment has on education, individuals, and society in general.
Response Formats
Authors: Qian David D. , Pan Mingwei
Published: November 2013

Starting with a brief introduction to task characteristics in language assessment, this chapter conceptualizes response format and its taxonomies, and reviews current views on response formats. In general, response formats can be categorized in terms of type, channel, form, language, length, and degree of speededness. In a narrow sense, however, item responses can be divided into selected and constructed responses. After an elaboration on the taxonomies with exemplifications, this chapter turns to a discussion on how a range of response formats can be used by particular skill‐based or language knowledge tests to enhance validity. From the perspectives of practical needs and cognitive constraints, the preferred response formats in formative assessment and assessment of young learners are also explored and justified. A discussion on the current studies in relation to response formats then largely hinges upon how different response formats might exert impact on test results and test‐takers' affective factors, and how a repertoire of response formats can assess a given construct in an integrated manner, such as the interaction between item input and response format. The last part of the chapter outlines challenges and future directions of research on response format, with the hope that various response formats will be integrated into language tests to achieve better validity.
AssessingEnglishinNorth America
Authors: ElAtia Samira
Published: November 2013

This chapter addresses ESL assessment in North America, covering both Canada and the USA. Even though the countries share commonalities, they each have a specific and different mandate regarding ESL assessment, linked to the official status of English in each country. Taking this into consideration, the chapter starts by discussing the issues of ESL terminology and defining ESL assessment: that is, what is ESL? And, what is considered as ESL assessment? Terminologies are in themselves problematic given the diversity of stakeholders and the interests connected with ESL teaching, learning, and assessment. Following this, the chapter discusses the legislation that governs language use within Canada and the USA. The different levels and groups of assessment population are described and differentiated from one another. Three main assessment areas are covered: for immigrant purposes, for educational purposes, and for work purposes.

A brief historical background is provided to contextualize and define each of these categories. A range of English tests, either large‐scale standardized tests or institutionally developed, is currently used across Canada and the USA for various purposes. This chapter also outlines current ongoing research and identifies pressing issues and challenges that may dictate future research and professional directions for ESL assessment in North America.
AssessingHawaiian
Authors: Wilson William H.
Published: November 2013

Over a period of 30 years, Hawaiian has moved from being a nearly extinct and forgotten language receiving almost no attention to being the single non‐English language most embedded as an official language of education and academic assessments in any of the 50 states within the USA. This change is highly related to the post‐World War II movement for equality for previously colonized peoples. It is also built upon inertia from government language use patterns and community identity factors in the small 19th‐century multiracial kingdom of Hawaii.

Hawaii is the only one of the 50 states in the USA with two official languages recognized in its constitution. The gradual expansion of use of Hawaiian by the state of Hawaii has become a role model for other indigenous governments of the USA including American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and Pacific Island territories. Assessments of Hawaiian language fluency and of academic knowledge through the Hawaiian language range from the private sector through to graduate school.

While locally distinct historical factors have played a major role in the current attention to the use of Hawaiian, Hawaiian has also been weakened by shared American historical factors relative to restrictions of language diversity, and on indigenous languages in particular. Hawaiian was nearly exterminated by the elimination of public Hawaiian medium education in 1896, and a subsequent ban on its use as a medium of education in schools that only ended in 1986. Continuing into the present are perspectives on Hawaiian that undervalue high fluency in it compared to foreign languages and which run counter to other trends that place high value on Hawaiian for symbolic purposes.
Assessing Listening
Authors: Wagner Elvis
Published: November 2013

This chapter gives an overview of important issues related to second language (L2) listening assessment. The first part of the chapter focuses on the unique challenges the listening mode presents to teachers and test developers, framed within the context of two separate but related principles of language testing: construct validity, and target language use (TLU) domain and task characteristics. The chapter then reviews the research on a number of practical issues in L2 listening assessment: using integrated test tasks; including linguistics features characteristic of unplanned spoken discourse in the spoken input; selecting the different types and varieties of the spoken language input; using the visual channel; choosing different item types and response formats; and presenting the listening texts and test questions to test takers. The chapter then examines issues of test consequences and washback in L2 listening assessment, and concludes with an examination of future directions in the area.
Using Corpora to Design Assessment
Authors: Barker Fiona
Published: November 2013

This chapter describes how language corpora, that is, databases of written, spoken or other texts, have been used within language testing and assessment (LTA) since the 1990s. It explores their theoretical insights and practical applications for assessing language, focusing on the high stakes testing of language proficiency. The chapter considers how corpora identify a test's underlying construct by providing evidence about structures, functions, or usage within general or language for specific purposes (LSP) domains. Corpus analysis supports test design, as learner or native speaker output or learning materials are stored electronically, marked up for various linguistic features, and searched using corpus linguistics (CL) techniques. Corpora also inform task genre, range, and level, and the individual items to be targeted in language tests. The chapter then describes the main types of corpora and how they benefit language assessment. Major design considerations include whether a corpus contains texts from language learners or native users; whether expert or nonexpert competency is required; and whether a delimited time period or a record of changing language or proficiency levels is needed. The options for annotating corpus data are presented, including adding part of speech information, parsing a text to show its syntactic structure, and marking up errors in learner texts, many of which are achieved automatically. Such coding enables specialized software such as Key Word In Context (KWIC) concordancers to analyze and display linguistic features in meaningful ways. The benefits that corpora have for making tests representative of the knowledge or ability to be tested are then presented. Each language testing context requires a needs analysis of the most appropriate corpus to use and how best to analyze and interpret the data, while adhering to the relevant test development architecture and following best practice guidelines. Both native corpora and learner corpora are well suited to the quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches found in LTA. Throughout the chapter case studies are given of corpora developed specifically for language assessment (e.g., the Cambridge Learner Corpus of writing exam scripts) and other corpora which are used for a range of purposes including LTA (e.g., the British National Corpus).
AssessingEnglishinSouth Asia
Authors: Mathew Rama
Published: November 2013

This chapter presents a description and evaluation of English as a second language (ESL) assessments carried out in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Other countries will be mentioned only in passing, due to the fact that published documents are not available. An examination of how these assessments are carried out in different contexts provides an opportunity to look at two essentially overlapping areas: the micro‐level aspects of language assessment within a curriculum‐based and a construct‐based framework; and the macro‐level aspects of how different countries are coping with critical issues such as the hegemony of English over local languages, or the link between identity and multilingualism.

The chapter starts by giving an overview of the status of English that affects English language education (ELE) in South Asia. Next it discusses assessment practices in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It examines the language policy that informs the education system, then it goes on to describe the kind of English language education that is offered at school and university levels, in both mother tongue medium and English medium streams. The last section presents issues and challenges that are unique to these countries (as well as common between them) in relation to ESL assessment and that need to be addressed at conceptual and systemic levels, if effective assessment practices are to be implemented in the classroom. The chapter concludes by highlighting future possibilities in the area given the cultural, linguistic, social and economic factors specific to this region.
Assessing
Telugu
Authors: Narasimha Rao K. V. V. L.
Published: November 2013

The chapter describes current teaching and assessment methodologies of Telugu as a first and second language across the world. It provides a structural description of the language and details including dialectal differences at morphological and syntactic levels; suggests solutions for issues and problems in teaching and learning Telugu; and outlines future directions to deal with current challenges.
Evaluation of Language Tests Through Validation Research
Authors: Chapelle Carol A. , Voss Erik
Published: November 2013

The evaluation of language assessments and tests is introduced asvalidation—the justification of the interpretations and uses of testing outcomes. A variety of approaches to validation have appeared over the past decades in the published language‐testing research, and therefore the professional literature contains a variety of analytic frameworks, each suggesting particular types of evaluative data obtained in the process of validation. Today a variety of approaches still exist, but argument‐based validation is the most recent and productive. Examples are provided to show how validity arguments for high stakes and low stakes tests can be developed, and challenges in developing validity arguments are described.
AssessingBahasa MelayuandBahasa Indonesia
Authors: Tan May
Published: November 2013

This article describes how standard Malay, known as Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia (BM) in Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia (BI) in Indonesia, is assessed within the public school systems of these two countries using high stakes exams. A brief linguistic description of the language is provided, since linguistic features are specifically taught in the curriculum and assessed in the high stakes exams. A historical overview of how BM came to be adopted as the official language of instruction in each country is also given. The official language curriculum in each country is explained, and details are given of how the high stakes assessment of BM is conducted for certification and gatekeeping purposes at the exit levels of elementary and secondary schooling. The chapter also discusses challenges related to the growth and assessment of BM and BI.
Writing Scoring Criteria and Score Reports
Authors: Montee Megan , Malone Margaret E.
Published: November 2013

A central purpose of any test is to convey information to stakeholders about examinees' performances. Scoring criteria allow test scorers, also called raters, to score a test reliably and consistently with its purpose and uses. Score reports provide a bridge from the test results to the real‐world decisions made on the basis of these results. Scoring criteria and score reports must be communicated to both technical and nontechnical audiences in meaningful ways, which often means “translating” jargon and specific testing terms into comprehensible language. This chapter discusses types of scoring scales, approaches to scale development, and considerations for score reporting. In particular, this chapter focuses on how test developers can write scoring criteria and score reports that convey the information to test users in ways that are both accurate and understandable.
English Language Proficiency Assessments as an Exit Criterion for English Learners
Authors: Wolf Mikyung Kim , Farnsworth Timothy
Published: November 2013

It is increasingly common in English‐speaking countries that K‐12 school populations include students who learn English as a second language (ESL). This chapter focuses on the assessment of English language proficiency (ELP) of English language learner (ELL) students in K‐12 schools. It highlights the use of ELP assessments to exit students from ELL designation or ESL programs and move them into English‐only mainstream classrooms. The chapter presents a brief overview of large‐scale ELP assessment practice for ELL students in US K‐12 schools. Then it discusses issues in ELP assessment constructs, issues in developing and using ELP assessments for an exit decision, and validation considerations including technical qualities and consequences.
Assessing Language Varieties
Authors: Pan Mingwei , Qian David D.
Published: November 2013

It is controversial whether the existing varieties of a language should be taken into consideration in designing a test of the language. This chapter first conceptualizes language varieties in the context of World Englishes, then it considers whether the norms in language assessment should be exonormative or endonormative. A few established English tests are reviewed with a view to pinpointing that test validity and fairness might possibly be jeopardized if one does not consider language varieties. Tests of Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese are also used as illustrations of other language varieties. Integrating the perspectives of pragmatic competence, sociolinguistic contexts, stages of language learning, and principles of language assessment, the authors propose a model for incorporating important features of language varieties into test construction and validation on the basis of test purposes, test construct, test use, test stakes, and test‐taker variables.
Assessing
Shona
and
Ndebele
Authors: Sibanda Galen
Published: November 2013

This chapter deals with first language assessment in two major African languages of Zimbabwe, isiNdebele and chiShona, focusing mainly on assessment and teaching, assessment and learning, and assessment and accountability under the two broad categories of “formative” and “summative” assessment. Given the technological advancements of recent years, the use of technology in assessment is also commented on in the discussion. Starting with a general description of the two languages and how they have been taught over the years, the chapter considers the issue of assessment as it applies to the teaching of isiNdebele and chiShona classes in primary schools, secondary schools, and universities. It concludes by highlighting some challenges and future directions, especially taking into account the many changes that took place in Zimbabwe's education system after Independence and the turbulent economic and political situation that prevailed the country in the last decade.
Assessing Language and Content
Authors: Snow Marguerite Ann , Katz Anne M.
Published: November 2013

Best practices in language assessment have typically sought to draw a dividing line between assessing language skills and assessing content knowledge. With the advent of specific purposes courses and content‐integrated language models, this separation is not longer possible, or even appropriate. Assessment practices have necessarily broadened, as the goals of such courses are both language development and subject matter learning. This chapter will explore both the theoretical and the practical implications of assessment practices in those settings where students are expected to learn both language and content and, hence, where the assessment must account for language knowledge and topical knowledge in a reliable and valid manner. The context selected as the focus of this chapter is K‐12 education in the USA, where population shifts have brought increasing numbers of second language students into mainstream classes. English learners in this setting must develop the proficiency needed for all communicative purposes, and this includes both the skills required for the everyday use of language and the levels of proficiency needed to succeed academically in school.