This book is relevant for language testers, listening researchers, and oral proficiency teachers, in that it explores four broad themes related to the assessment of L2 listening ability: the use of authentic, real-world spoken texts; the effects of different speech varieties of listening inputs; the use of audio-visual texts; and assessing…

The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

This study sought to explore the emotional intelligence of Form One mathematics and science teachers. The emotional intelligence of the teachers was determined using the Emotional Intelligence for Mathematics and Science Teachers (EIMST) survey instrument. It was adapted and adopted from related instruments and then pilot tested for validity and…

The present study had three purposes. The first was to further explore the psychometric properties of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Zhang, L. F. (2003). "The preferred thinking styles in teaching inventory." Unpublished test. The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong]. The second was to test the hypothesis that the…

This study found that the restructured National Board Dental Examination Part II is a reliable test assessing a full range of cognitive behaviors, and a unidimensional test of comprehensive general dentistry, suggesting better testing of knowledge and problem-solving skills than on the traditional examination. Performance on the pilot and…

A study of the comparability of results of two techniques of testing, the traditional approach and that of giving the students the questions before the examination, revealed little difference in the two approaches' results, and supports the use of "prior notice" to reduce test anxiety. (MSE)

A study compared student evaluations made by residency directors and deans in 2 medical schools, using 3 standard methods of ranking 20 students per school. Ordinal ranking showed substantial agreement for 15 of 16 residency directors. Two methods of clustering into fixed groups gave high agreement only for top students. (Author/MSE)

A study analyzed validity and reliability of grades and credits earned by college students in five departments, as indicators of student learning. Results indicate positive, strong correlation between faculty-assigned grades and student performance on external criterion measures. Validity of credits was not as clear. Strong and consistent evidence…

To determine if different graded word lists can be used interchangeably for assessment purposes, and to determine if age, grade, or sex affects performance on the different graded word lists, a study examined the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), Levels I and II, the San Diego Quick Assessment, and the Graded Word Reading Test by F.J. Schonell.…

A study found that the admission interview scores for 62 Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) applicants correlated positively with dean's letter ratings given 4 years later and that interview scores were better predictors of ratings than were total Medical College Admission Test scores or science grade point averages. (Author/MSE)

This study investigated the testing of speaking vocabulary in English as a Second Language (ESL) at a university in Hawaii. A Speaking Vocabulary Test (SVT) was developed and piloted with college students. Test-takers (n=37) were divided into three groups: native English-speaking freshmen and sophomores; non-native English-speaking freshmen,…

This book offers specific how-to advice to college faculty on every stage of the testing process, including planning the test and classifying objectives to be measured, ensuring the validity and reliability of the test, and grading in such a way as to arrive at fair grades based on relevant data. The book examines the strengths and weaknesses of…

Problems inherent in the holistic scoring of essay examinations written by limited-English-speakers are examined, particularly in the context of one California state college in which English writing skills, holistically assessed, are required for graduation. These problems include lack of interrater reliability, raters' perceptions of their role,…

A study investigated general and vocational skills of 32 British business undergraduates before and after their field experiences, as perceived by the students and their employers. Although the parties agree that some skill development occurred during field experience, substantial discrepancies between student and employer perceptions of actual…

A Dutch study of the relationship between different student cognitive styles and foreign language achievement focused on the development and analysis of a grammar test for English as a second language. The test consists of ten subtests requiring the student to manipulate aspects of English syntactic, morphosyntactic, and morphological structure.…