This paper presents the results of writing processing among 260 high school senior students, their degree of satisfaction using the new trial version of the Computer Based University Entrance Examination in Spain and their degree of motivation towards written online test tasks. Currently, this is one of the closing studies to verify whether…

Essay marking is a subjective intellectual exercise in which the score reliability can be influenced by many factors such as the test design, the marker's interpretation of the marking criteria, the procedure, and the method used in the marking process. After conducting a literature review this study investigated the reliability of essay marking…

Reviews a writing abilities competency test based on samples of essay writing. A copy of the test is appended. (NKA)

An overview of the research needed on the new Test of Written English (TWE), a section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), looks at research needs in the areas of test validity, test reliability, topic development, and equating. Suggested topics for study include: the uniqueness of the construct measured by the test, in…

Non native speakers of English wishing to study at tertiary level in English speaking countries are increasingly required to prove their English language competence by taking an internationally recognised test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS). This article…

Testing language skills is difficult, but testing writing, and the writing of students of English as a Second Language, poses two major problems. The first is making decisions about the matter of control, objectivity of the evaluation, and naturalness in the writing test. The second major problem is that, if the test is done in a way that cannot…

Statewide competency testing as a high school graduation requirement represents a threat to those who encourage broad notions of reading and writing, even when a number of testing innovations in reading and writing mean a step forward in education. In Alberta, Canada, the English exam comes in a non-academic and an academic version, and…

Papers from the conference on language testing include: "Foundations and Directions for a New Decade of Language Testing" (Carol Chapelle, Dan Douglas); "A Comparison of the Abilities Measured by the Cambridge and Educational Testing Service EFL Test Batteries" (Lyle F. Bachman, Fred Davidson, John Foulkes); "Judgments in…