ERIC Number: EJ1258501
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0265-5322
EISSN: N/A
Placement Testing: One Test, Two Tests, Three Tests? How Many Tests Are Sufficient?
Language Testing, v37 n3 p453-471 Jul 2020
Accurate placement within levels of an ESL program is crucial for optimal teaching and learning. Commercially available tests are commonly used for placement, but their effectiveness has been found to vary. This study uses data from the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) at Ohio University to examine the value of two commercially available tests (the TOEFL ITP and the Michigan EPT) and a locally developed writing test for accurate placement decisions. Placement accuracy was measured in terms of the relationship between test scores and (1) appropriate placement levels for individual students according to their teachers, and (2) student performance in the classes. Findings support the continued use of multiple measures for more accurate placement decisions in the study context. However, the relationship between test scores and student performance, measured by students' grades in the actual course levels and their success in advancing to a higher course level as additional indicators of the extent to which placement tests provide an accurate indication, was weak when analyzed through multiple regression and cross-tabulation, suggesting that factors other than initial proficiency are primarily determinative of student success when students have been accurately placed.
Descriptors: Student Placement, Testing, English (Second Language), Language Tests, Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Accuracy, Predictive Validity, Scores, Writing Tests, Academic Achievement, Grade Point Average
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language; Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A