Vocabulary tests administered on multilingual populations should take into account the unique linguistic and cultural makeup of the population by adopting test development methods that allow responses in several languages. Our aims were to develop a picture-naming test for multilingual Lebanese school-age children (L1: Lebanese, L2: French and/or…

Low stakes assessment without grading the performance of students in educational systems has received increasing attention in recent years. It is used in formative assessments to guide the learning process as well as in large-scales assessments to monitor educational programs. Yet, such assessments suffer from high variation in students'…

Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) has been widely adopted in teaching and learning, yet there has been scant research concerning speaking test adaptation. An emerging type of mobile application is designed to facilitate test takers' performance in a high-stakes speaking test (e.g., the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)).…

When cognitive and educational tests are administered under time limits, tests may become speeded and this may affect the reliability and validity of the resulting test scores. Prior research has shown that time limits may create or enlarge gender gaps in cognitive and academic testing. On average, women complete fewer items than men when a test…

This study aimed to investigate the test-taking strategies needed for successful completion of a lecture-based listening test by employing self-reported test-taking strategy use, actual strategy use measured via eye-tracking, and test scores. In this study, participants' gaze behavior (measured by fixation and visit duration and frequency) were…

The COVID-19 pandemic causing severe and lethal health issues by means of contact or airborne transmission has significantly altered our normal way of life. Having regular face-to-face contact poses a great risk even with precautionary measures taken resulting in a drastic change in the realm of learning and teaching from onsite to online.…

The study investigated items that were prone to guessing in Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) Economics multiple-choice tests among students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The 2016 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) and National Examinations Council (NECO) Economics multiple-choice test items were subjected to…

This study examined the effects of bottom-up instruction (BI) on a high-stakes listening test for second language (L2) listeners and compared these effects with those of strategy instruction (SI) in relation to their proficiency levels. Two intact classes (48 L2 listeners) of different L2 listening proficiency levels received five weeks of BI and…

There has been increasing concern about the presence of disengaged test taking in international assessment programmes and its implications for the validity of inferences made regarding a country's level of educational attainment. This issue has received a growing research interest over the past 20 years, with notable advances in both the…

The extensive use of automated speech scoring in large-scale speaking assessment can be revolutionary not only to test design and rating, but also to the learning and instruction of speaking based on how students and teachers perceive and react to this technology. However, its washback remained underexplored. This mixed-method study aimed to…

In 2015, all Australian education ministers agreed that from 1 July 2016 the Government would initiate the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE), designed to verify that all prospective teachers could demonstrate the literacy and numeracy skills required in their profession. The LANTITE quickly became another hurdle…

The functioning of a vocabulary testing instrument rests in part on the test-taking actions made possible for examinees by item format, an aspect of test development that warrants consideration in second-language vocabulary research. For example, although iterations of the written receptive vocabulary levels test (VLT) have integrated improvements…

Testwiseness may introduce construct-irrelevant variance to multiple-choice test scores. Presenting response options sequentially has been proposed as a potential solution to this problem. In an experimental validation, we determined the psychometric properties of a test based on the sequential presentation of response options. We created a strong…

Making the transition from university to employment is a challenging process for many students. One common method used by recruiters to sift through graduate applications is the use of psychometric tests which typically consist of numerical and verbal reasoning tasks. To explore how frequently these tests are used by graduate employers, an audit…

As part of continued efforts to ensure inclusivity in assessment, OCR has developed a set of accessibility principles for question design in GCSE Science examinations, which has been applied since 2018. The principles are intended to help ensure that all students can demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills to the best of their…