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In Thai higher education, first-year university admissions rely on multiple English test scores from both national and international examinations. Because these tests differ in purpose, constructs, and scoring criteria, administrators and teachers often have difficulty placing students into appropriate English courses, especially when all students are required to begin with the same foundation English course. To address this challenge, the Chulalongkorn University Language Institute (CULI) developed an English Placement Test (EPT) to classify students according to their actual proficiency and to support differentiated instruction. The test consists of 80 multiple-choice items (20 each on listening, vocabulary, language use, and reading) plus a one-paragraph writing task on a familiar or background-related topic. This study examines the predictive validity of the EPT by analyzing its correlation with achievement in an English foundation course. Data from 303 first-year health science EFL students were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlations and regression analysis. Results showed moderate and significant correlations, indicating that the EPT effectively predicts course outcomes. The EPT was particularly useful in identifying low-proficiency students who required extra support, while mid- and high-proficiency groups generally performed well and met course expectations. Its diagnostic writing component also provided formative feedback, enabling teachers to better tailor instruction. The results highlight the value of placement testing for student grouping and pedagogical decision-making.

The English General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), a nationwide high-stakes college entrance exam in Taiwan, has commonly served as a placement test for streaming college freshmen into EFL classes. There has, however, been scant research reported on the feasibility of using an admission test for EFL placement. This study aims to investigate the accuracy and validity of placement decisions being made using the English GSAT scores, with a focus on its relations with the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) and students’ subsequent performance in class. Quantitative data, including the English GSAT scores, the GEPT High-Intermediate Listening and Reading scores, and the English final course grades, were collected and statistically analyzed from four EFL classes with a total of 100 students at a university in Taiwan. The English GSAT was found to function well to place students into distinctively lower or higher level of EFL classes but did not discriminate well for the borderline cohort. A three-level placement using the English GSAT appeared to be a better differentiation between each proficiency cluster. High achievers in the English GSAT appeared to perform better on the GEPT listening and reading tests than did low achievers. Yet, apart from the GEPT reading test, the English GSAT yielded weak predictive power of student course attainment, which seemingly varied across classes, hinging on course designs and grading policies. Implications drawn from the results of the investigation were further discussed.

Previous research in cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) of L2 reading ability has been frequently conducted using large-scale English proficiency exams (e.g., TOEFL, MELAB). Using CDA, it is possible to analyze individual learners' strengths and weaknesses in multiple attributes (i.e., knowledge, skill, strategy) measured at the item level. This study explored how a placement test score could be used for diagnosing the L2 reading ability of incoming students to an adult ESL program. Five content experts completed a reading placement test and identified the attributes required for successfully completing each item on the test, while referring to the list of L2 reading attributes. Then, content experts' codings were analyzed and developed into an item-by-attribute Q-matrix. The Fusion model, a type of cognitive diagnostic model (CDM), was used for refining the Q-matrix and diagnosing 1982 learners' strengths and weaknesses in L2 reading. Results suggest that 10 major L2 reading attributes were involved in the reading test. In addition, examinees' strengths and weaknesses were identified for the overall group, three reading proficiency groups (i.e., beginner, intermediate, and advanced), and individual learners. Such information could be provided to ESL program administrator and teachers for enhancing the reading curriculum and developing instructional materials. (Verlag).

Students of color are disproportionally placed into developmental education courses, especially when a high-stakes assessment, such as a placement test, is used for placement decisions. Stereotype threat has impacted performance on high-stakes assessments. Despite the extensive research on stereotype threat in many high-stakes assessments, this is the first study, to our knowledge, that assesses the effectiveness of a stereotype threat intervention with the college placement test. In this quasi-experimental study, we compared the placement test scores of community college students who received a brief, five-minute stereotype threat intervention to the placement test scores of community college students who did not receive the intervention. Results indicated that the intervention had a significant positive impact on placement scores for Black, White, male, female, and traditional-aged (aged 18-24) students. The only significant finding for essay scores was for male students, whose scores went up when exposed to the intervention. Practice recommendations are provided.

Although placing students in the appropriate proficiency levels of post-secondary English programs is crucial for optimal learning, the evaluation of placement tests (PTs) in terms of establishing their reliability and validity is relatively under-researched. This study assesses the validity, reliability, and effectiveness of an in-house online PT. The content validity was established through the internal and external moderation of the question papers and answer keys while criterion-related concurrent validity was established via IELTS benchmarking. New Student Survey was used to investigate the face validity. The internal consistency and reliability of the reading test items were measured using Cronbach’s alpha while descriptive statistics were calculated for the listening test. Paired sample t-test (dependent t-test) was used to assess the inter-rater reliability of the speaking and writing tests which were double-marked. The data analysis revealed that the PT was effective in placing students at different levels of the foundation program (FP) and the statistical analyses conducted to test the reliability and validity showed positive results for most of the test versions. The study offers useful insights to test developers and policymakers regarding the authentication of in-house tests and the creation of guidelines for PT design and evaluation.

Development and administration of institutional ESL placement tests require a great deal of financial and human resources. Due to a steady increase in the number of international students studying in the United States, some US universities have started to consider using standardized test scores for ESL placement. The English Placement Test (EPT) is a locally administered ESL placement test at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This study examines the appropriateness of using pre-arrival SAT, ACT, and TOEFL iBT test scores as an alternative to the EPT for placement of international undergraduate students into one of the two levels of ESL writing courses at UIUC. Exploratory analysis shows that only the lowest SAT Reading and ACT English scores, and the highest TOEFL iBT total and Writing section scores can separate the students between the two placement courses. However, the number of undergraduate ESL students, who scored at the lowest and highest ends of each of these test scales, has been very low over the last six years (less than 5%). Thus, setting cutoff scores for such a small fraction of the ESL population may not be very practical. As far as the majority of the undergraduate ESL population is concerned, there is about a 40% chance that they may be misplaced if the placement decision is made solely on the standardized test scores. (Verlag).

Since 2012 an interdisciplinary and culturally heterogeneous team composed of more than 30 people has been engaged in the complex process of conceiving, designing and validating an online placement test with formative orientation called SELF (Système d’Evaluation en Langues à visée Formative), developed and already deployed in six different languages – Italian and English as pilots, followed by French, Mandarin, Japanese and Spanish. Its results are used to form groups and classes of similar ability, or to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in three macro skills (listening, reading, limited writing). In this report, we describe the steps the multilingual team is currently taking to transform SELF into a diagnostic test that will fulfill its original formative purpose and provide students and other stakeholders with more precise information about their performance. This can be done in two ways, by using the data automatically recorded by the online administration platform more thoroughly and by enriching user feedback with clear and informative graphics. This will enhance the validity of our test, and help close the gap between testing and learning.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the English Placement Test (EPT) is the institutional placement test that is used to place students into appropriate English as a second language (ESL) writing and/or pronunciation service courses. The EPT is used to assess the English ability of newly admitted international undergraduate and graduate students as validated against the English language demands of our campus (UIUC English Placement Test 2013). According to Davidson & Cho (2001), the current format of the EPT has maintained its quality and displayed evidence of validity through the use of detailed test specifications that align with the goals of the UIUC ESL writing and pronunciation service courses. UIUC offers these courses to international students who are accepted on a limited status based on their scores on standardized English proficiency tests (TOEFL or IELTS) and/or other relevant information in each student's admission dossier. Students accepted on limited admission status are required to take the EPT before start of instruction.

The growing number of internationally mobile students who present Italian L2 language certificates on entry has led the University of Padua Language Centre (CLA) to reflect on whether it should maintain an online placement testing as a means of placing students in the relevant classes (Fratter, Ivana & Altinier. Micol 2015. Gli apprendenti di italiano L2 all’Università e le loro abitudini tecnologiche. In Francesca Helm, Linda Bradley, Marta Guarda & Sylvie Thouësny (eds.), , 177–180. Dublin & Ireland: Research-publishing.net.). As of Academic Years 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, a research project has been underway at the CLA, involving the experimentation of a new integrated system of assessment comprising self-assessment and placement testing. An initial review of the placement test results carried out at the CLA combined with an examination of language certificates presented by the students has raised some critical issues related to incongruous data among the various tests/certifications. Other situations have shown different results regarding language skills within the same test, which has underpinned the decision to introduce a system of self-assessment so as to grant greater autonomy and responsibility to the students when choosing their class. This study sets out to analyze whether exchange students at the CLA are in a position to assess their own level of competence in L2 Italian, and then choose the Italian language class most suited to their language needs, thereby making class formation procedures easier. To this end, two different self-assessment tools were assigned to the students who, in turn, revealed the difficulties they encountered when self- assessing their language level without guidance. This has led to a new approach for self-assessment. This study highlights the process and initial results of research carried out in two phases of experimentation involving a new self-assessment proposal with integrated tools.

The investigation intends to assess the effectiveness of a lexical recognition test (Meara & Buxton, 1987) as a placement tool that distinguishes among levels of two groups of students: Spanish heritage language learners (HLL) and second language learners (SLL). Three hundred and thirty university students from four different levels completed a 10-minute/200-word task based on Davies' (2006) Spanish frequency corpora. The results were compared to those from a control group of bilingual graduate students. As comparison measures, about half of the students completed a Cloze Test while the rest were asked to carry out a Multiple-task Test. The results of the study suggest that for SLL, and HLL at the lower levels of language ability, a lexical test based on the 5000 most frequent words in Spanish is a valid and practical testing tool that correlates with other measures of language proficiency. For more advanced levels of HLL, a wider range of words is necessary to avoid the ceiling effect. (Verlag, adapt.).