Rater comments tend to be qualitatively analyzed to indicate raters' application of rating scales. This study applied natural language processing (NLP) techniques to quantify meaningful, behavioral information from a corpus of rater comments and triangulated that information with a many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) analysis of rater scores. The…

This experimental study explores how source use features impact raters' judgment of argumentation in a second language (L2) integrated writing test. One hundred four experienced and novice raters were recruited to complete a rating task that simulated the scoring assignment of a local English Placement Test (EPT). Sixty written responses were…

This article explores the nature of the construct underlying classroom-based English for academic purpose (EAP) oral presentation assessments, which are used, in part, to determine admission to programmes of study at UK universities. Through analysis of qualitative data (from questionnaires, interviews, rating discussions, and fieldnotes), the…

Over the past decade, testing and assessing spoken-language interpreting has garnered an increasing amount of attention from stakeholders in interpreter education, professional certification, and interpreting research. This is because in these fields assessment results provide a critical evidential basis for high-stakes decisions, such as the…

Research has shown that language teachers typically feel underprepared for assessment aspects of their job. One reason may relate to how teacher education programmes prepare future teachers in this area. Research insights into how and to what extent teacher educators train future language teachers in language assessment matters are scarce,…

This study evaluated the efficacy of two proposed methods in an operational standard-setting study conducted for a high-stakes language proficiency test of the U.S. government. The goal was to seek low-cost modifications to the existing Yes/No Angoff method to increase the validity and reliability of the recommended cut scores using a convergent…

While several test concordance tables have been published, the research underpinning such tables has rarely been examined in detail. This study aimed to survey the publically available studies or documentation underpinning the test concordance tables of the providers of four major international language tests, all accepted by the Australian…

Despite the increased use of integrated tasks in high-stakes academic writing assessment, research on rating criteria which reflect the unique construct of integrated summary writing skills is comparatively rare. Using a mixed-method approach of expert judgement, text analysis, and statistical analysis, this study examines writing features that…

Great opportunities for language testing practitioners are enabled through language program administration. Local language tests lend themselves to multiple purposes--for placement and diagnosis, as a means of tracking progress, and as a contribution to program evaluation and revision. Administrative choices, especially those involving a test, are…

Writing in a foreign language is a particularly difficult skill to develop, especially when young learners are concerned because they are parallelly learning to write in their L1 and do not have strong oral foundations in their L2. The issue becomes even more complex when the ways to assess young learners' writing are considered, given that…

The main aim of this study was to investigate how oral fluency is assessed across different levels of proficiency in the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP). Working with data from 56 test-takers performing a monologic task at a range of proficiency levels (equivalent to approximately levels 5.0, 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5 in the IELTS scoring…

The quality of sign language interpreting (SLI) is a gripping construct among practitioners, educators and researchers, calling for reliable and valid assessment. There has been a diverse array of methods in the extant literature to measure SLI quality, ranging from traditional error analysis to recent rubric scoring. In this study, we want to…

Cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) intends to identify learners' strengths and weaknesses in latent cognitive attributes to provide personalized remedial instructions. Previous CDA studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL)/English as a Second Language (ESL) writing have adopted dichotomous cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) to analyze data…

Assessing the content of learners' compositions is a common practice in second language (L2) writing assessment. However, the construct definition of content in L2 writing assessment potentially underrepresents the target competence in content and language integrated learning (CLIL), which aims to foster not only L2 proficiency but also critical…

The use of assessments that require rater judgment (i.e., rater-mediated assessments) has become increasingly popular in high-stakes language assessments worldwide. Using a systematic literature review, the purpose of this study is to identify and explore the dominant methods for evaluating rating quality within the context of research on…