In Winter 2021-2022, the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) assessments are administered in ELA and mathematics in Grades 3-8. In Spring 2021-2022, the NSCAS assessments are administered in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in Grades 3-8 and in science in Grades 5 and 8. The purposes of the NSCAS assessments are to…

In Fall and Winter 2022-2023, the NSCAS assessments were administered in ELA and mathematics for grades 3-8. In Spring 2022-2023, the NSCAS assessments were administered in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics for grades 3-8 and in science for grades 5 and 8. The purposes of the NSCAS assessments are to measure and report Nebraska students'…

This article looks at the changes made to examinations in England over recent decades and asks about the politics behind the changes. It considers how increasingly centralised the assessment regime has become, moving from a system where teachers could have a say in how pupils are assessed to a regime dominated by government approved tests. It…

This article reports the findings of a study that sought to investigate whether computer-based vs. paper-based test-delivery mode has an impact on the reliability and validity of an achievement test for a pedagogical content knowledge course in an English teacher education program. A total of 97 university students enrolled in the English as a…

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that more accurately, compared to previous assessments, measure student progress toward college and career readiness. The PARCC assessments include both English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA/L) and…

Test is procedures for measuring ability, knowledge or performance. Testing can be defined as a method of assessment and improvement of the students. Language testing in any point is an extremely multifarious task that ought to be based on method as well as exercise. The results of assessments are used for one or more purposes. So they have an…

The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) is a 5-level, criterion-referenced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) testing system implemented in Taiwan to assess the general English proficiency of EFL learners. In 1999, with the aim of encouraging the general study of English and to result in beneficial washback effects on the teaching and…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2016 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e.,…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2015 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e.,…

This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2014 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e.,…

This article describes the National Center Test for University Admissions, a unified national test in Japan, which is taken by 500,000 students every year. It states that implementation of the Center Test began in 1990, with the English component consisting only of the written section until 2005, when the listening section was first implemented…

Several studies show that teachers make use of grading practices to affect students' effort and achievement. Generally linearity is assumed in the grading equation, while it is everyone's experience that grading practices are frequently non-linear. Representing grading practices as linear can be misleading both from a descriptive and a…

This article reviews Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners ("ACCESS for ELLs"[R]), which is a large-scale, high-stakes, standards-based, and criterion-referenced English language proficiency test administered in the USA annually to more than 840,000 English Language Learners (ELLs), in…

This article presents an interview with Professor Gui Shichun, a well-known figure in the academic field in China. Professor Shichun is credited with being the first scholar who introduced applied linguistics studies into China. He has established several other records of "the first in China," hence has long been called "the brave…

Discusses the present state of assessing students' oral language proficiency. Includes a comparison of achievement and proficiency test formats, an explanation of the ratings system, and a discussion on the need for a common standard. The adoption of frequency ratings by the academic community is a way off. (PJM)