Investigating the relative effects of persons, items, sections, and languages on TOEIC score dependability.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 53
Subjects: Test of English for International Communication.; English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers -- Japanese.; English language -- Examinations.
Description: This study applied generalizability theory to investigate the contributions of persons, items, sections, and language backgrounds to the score dependability of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). I replicated and extended J. D. Brown's (1998) study of the TOEFL, using data from two language groups: 45,156 Japanese examinees and 46,067 Korean examinees, who took the same form of the TOEIC. Both classical reliability analyses and generalizability analyses found the TOEIC scores of the examinees in question to be highly reliable/generalizable. However, the TOEIC did not distinguish among examinees well, neither within each language group, nor for both language groups combined. The items within a section varied greatly in difficulty. The findings regarding the effect of language backgrounds on TOEIC score dependability were inconclusive, which suggests directions for future research. TOEIC test developers might explore design alternatives with fewer items per section.
Notes: Adviser:  Ruth Childs.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, page: 1962.

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