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A much-debated question in the L2 assessment field is if computer familiarity should be considered a potential source of construct-irrelevant variance in computer-based writing (CBW) tests. This study aims to make a partial validity argument for an online source-based writing test (OSWT) designed for English placement testing (EPT), focusing on the explanation inference. Score interpretations on the OWST are proposed and supporting evidence is sought in terms of test-takers’ self-confidence in and preferences for CBW tests (two interrelated aspects of computer familiarity) and L2 writing ability. Ninety-seven ESL students demonstrating two different levels (higher and lower levels) of L2 writing ability studying at a US university completed the OSWT and an online questionnaire asking about their attitudes towards CBW tests. A series of statistical and thematic analyses revealed that most of the test-takers held self-confidence in and preferences for CBW tests for reasons related to previous CBW experience (e.g., familiarity with CBW, useful tools/functions available on computers) regardless of L2 writing ability. The higher-level test-takers obtained significantly higher scores on the OSWT than their lower-level counterparts. Test-takers’ preferences were a significant predictor of the OSWT scores only in the higher-level group. The findings largely support the validity of proposed score interpretations on the OSWT. Implications are discussed in terms of test fairness and the construct of CBW tests.

A common use of language tests is to support decisions about examinees such as placement into appropriate classes. Research on placement testing has focused on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in higher education contexts. However, there is little research exploring the use of language tests to place students in English as a Second Language (ESL) support classes in secondary education. The present study examined the relationship between secondary school students' language test scores from a standardized English-language test and the placement of these students into ESL classes by their language teachers. Ninety-two ESL students in two English-medium schools took TOEFL(R) Junior(TM) Standard. For the same students, data collection also included teachers' judgments regarding the ESL classes the students should attend. Strong correlations between test scores and the teacher-assigned ESL levels were found. Moreover, the results from the logistic regression analysis indicated a great degree of overlap between the teacher-assigned ESL levels and the levels predicted from the TOEFL Junior Standard scores. The findings of this study provide some preliminary evidence to support the use of TOEFL Junior Standard as an initial screening tool for ESL placement. The limitations and implications of these findings for ESL placement decisions in secondary education are also discussed. (Verlag).

Background Placement testing is a crucial issue in Japanese universities. In the majority of language programs, classes are streamed by proficiency levels based on students’ placement test score for efficient instruction because university students’ proficiency levels vary greatly even in the same program. The Visualizing English Language Competency Test® [VELC Test® (VELC Research Group, 2013)] was designed particularly for making Japanese university students’ proficiency and placement decisions. Methods This study provides a validity argument for the VELC Test® score interpretations and uses using Kane’s (2006) argument-based validity framework when administered to 4407 Japanese university students as a placement test. Results Four inferences from observation to decision were adequately made due to the facts that: (a) most of the VELC Test® items were working as placement items (scoring), (b) the VELC Test® ( k  = 120) was reliable with the small amount of error (generalization), (c) test-takers’ VELC Test® score could show what they could do with their English (extrapolation), and (d) the VELC Test® could be used to separate test-takers’ proficiency into three levels and could be useful for test-takers’ further learning (decision).  Conclusions This study indicated that administrators could make valid Japanese university students' placement decisions with this test.

The reported study piloted test items that will be used in a computer-delivered and scored test of productive grammatical ability in English as a second language (ESL). Findings from research on learners' development of morphosyntactic, syntactic, and functional knowledge were synthesized to create a framework of grammatical features. The authors outline the interpretive argument and present results from four pilot test administrations in terms of (a) reliability, (b) relationships between item difficulties and developmental stages, (c) correlations with other English tests, and (d) predictability of test scores in relation to proficiency levels. The results support the potential of assessing productive ESL grammatical ability by targeting areas identified in SLA research, and the plausibility of moving forward with computer delivery and scoring. (Verlag, adapt.).

Practitioners working closely with second language (L2) writers in the US recognize at least two types of L2 students: international (IL2) and Generation 1.5 (G1.5) students. Some argue that specific differences in each group's writing performance are evident (cf. Harklau, 2003; Reid, 2006); however, investigations into observable and measurable differences have been minimal. Using a Rasch measurement model, the reported study offers empirical evidence of how these students may differ in their writing performance, specifically with regard to grammatical, rhetorical, cohesive, sociolinguistic, and content control, in addition to essay length. Two separate statistical analyses were conducted: the first examined differences between IL2 and G1.5 students when modeled together as a single group; the second looked at how the groups compared when modeled separately. Results from the whole-group analysis showed the two groups differed only with regard to rhetorical control; the separate-group analysis revealed differences in length and in the difficulty rankings of the scoring components, with content control ranked at opposite extremes for the two groups. In neither analysis did the groups differ with regard to grammatical, cohesive, or sociolinguistic control as defined in the study. Results are interpreted in terms of students' strengths and weaknesses relevant to placement decisions and instruction. (Verlag, adapt.).

This study examines the use of a lexical decision test as a placement measure in a university Spanish foreign language program. Lexical decision tests measure word recognition and have been shown to correlate well with other language proficiency tests. The main advantage of using lexical decision as a placement tool is its ease of creation and administration. We examined the ability of lexical decision to discriminate between adjacent placement levels in our program and found that it functions up to the low-intermediate level only. This limitation may be due to the way vocabulary is taught, the stages of development of the lexicon, and the learning plateau that intermediate learners appear to reach. Nonetheless, lexical decision allows for a quick initial sorting of students into different levels and reduces the need for individual placement by instructors. Adapted from the source document

In recent years, many tertiary institutions have been changing their pen-and-paper English placement test practices into computer based ones. In the process of constructing the University of Nicosia (Intercollege)New English Placement Test Online(NEPTON), we discovered how to redesign our test to include the use of technology. The present article reports this experience in three parts. In the first section, we demonstrate how NEPTON, a hybrid of a computer-based test (CBT) and a computer adaptive test (CAT) model was influenced and shaped by theoretical issues such as CBT and CAT characteristics—their advantages and disadvantages—and by practical issues such as the particular context of the institution. This is followed by a detailed description of the test, highlighting its essential and innovative features. Lastly, we discuss and analyze different aspects of the test's first administration to establish how reliable and valid this test is as a placement instrument for first-year University of Nicosia (Intercollege) students.

One of the tasks faced by undergraduate mathematics departments is placing incoming students into the appropriate mathematics classes for their abilities. This is often accomplished through giving a placement test at the time of student orientation. Dissatisfaction with the results of the placement test used at our university prompted us to write a new one. In this paper, we describe the writing of the new placement test and provide detailed results of a validity study on the test. Our results led us to conclude that placement testing does not work very well, and to suggest that undergraduate mathematics departments consider using existing data rather than give a separate placement test. In spite of this conclusion, we do decide to continue with our placement test, and we offer reasons for doing so. *The authors are indebted to David Frisbie, a testing and measurement professor at the University of Iowa, who read early versions of this paper, and gave expert advice. We also thank our colleague, Debbie Wing, who created one of the large data sets used in this study. Finally, we acknowledge our university's Chancellor Small Grant, which paid for various aspects of this study. Of course, we speak for ourselves only.

Can charter schools save public education? This radical question has unleashed a flood of opinions from Americans struggling with the contentious challenges of education reform. There has been plenty of heat over charter schools and their implications, but, until now, not much light. This important new book supplies plenty of illumination. Charter schools--independently operated public schools of choice--have existed in the United States only since 1992, yet there are already over 1,500 of them. How are they doing? Here prominent education analysts Chester Finn, Bruno Manno, and Gregg Vanourek offer the richest data available on the successes and failures of this exciting but controversial approach to education reform. After studying one hundred schools, interviewing hundreds of participants, surveying thousands more, and analyzing the most current data, they have compiled today's most authoritative, comprehensive explanation and appraisal of the charter phenomenon. Fact-filled, clear-eyed, and hard-hitting, this is the book for anyone concerned about public education and interested in the role of charter schools in its renewal. Can charter schools boost student achievement, drive educational innovation, and develop a new model of accountability for public schools? Where did the idea of charter schools come from? What would the future hold if this phenomenon spreads? These are some of the questions that this book answers. It addresses pupil performance, enrollment patterns, school start-up problems, charges of inequity, and smoldering political battles. It features close-up looks at five real--and very different--charter schools and two school districts that have been deeply affected by the charter movement, including their setbacks and triumphs. After outlining a new model of education accountability and describing how charter schools often lead to community renewal, the authors take the reader on an imaginary tour of a charter-based school system. Charter schools are the most vibrant force in education today. This book suggests that their legacy will consist not only of helping millions of families obtain a better education for their children but also in renewing American public education itself.

Described is a high school mathematics testing program reported to help improve students' mathematics performance. Features and results of the program are discussed. (CW)