This book documents a major study comparing the Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE) with the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to investigate similarities in test content, candidature and use. While both tests were designed to measure many of the same abilities, they represent radically different approaches to language test development, reflecting deeper differences between educational measurement traditions in the US and UK.The thorough investigation of the fundamental characteristics and operational utility of two of the most widely used English tests for foreign students makes this study a valuable contribution to language testing research. As such, it will be of considerable interest to language testing specialists and examination boards, as well as to academic researchers and graduate students in the field of language assessment more generally.

The focus on careful reading in theoretical literature has meant that we have somewhat ignored reading behaviours such as skimming, scanning and search reading in the teaching and testing of reading. These theories do not explain how readers process texts quickly and selectively. The development of the Advanced English Reading Test (AERT) for university students in the People's Republic of China under the auspices of the National College English Test Committee was the vehicle for investigating the nature of and the relationships between skimming, scanning, search reading and careful reading. This volume reports on the methodological procedures that led to the development of this important test and discusses the results of the empirical investigations that were carried out to establish its validity. As such it offers a blueprint of reading assessment for those wishing to research in the area.

The volume offers an explanatory account of the progress of academic language proficiency testing in the UK (and later Australia), from the British Council's English Proficiency Test Battery (EPTB), through the revolutionary English Language Testing Service (ELTS) to the present solution of IELTS. The three stages of academic language testing in the UK over the last 50 years move from grammar through real life to features of language use. At the same time, comparison of predictive validities suggests that all three measures account for very similar shares of the variance (about 10%) and that therefore the choice of an academic language proficiency test is determined only in part by predictive validity: other factors such as test delivery, test renewal in response to fashion, research and impact on stakeholders, and assessment of all four language skills are also important.

This critical history covers 70 years of two major UCLES / Cambridge ESOL international exams: the First Certificate in English (FCE) and the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE). The story begins with the development and first sitting of the FCE (then called the Lower Certificate in English) in 1939. The book then traces subsequent developments, including the initiation of FCE under its current name in 1975, the introduction of CAE in 1991, as well as reviews, major revisions, and modifications, leading to the update of FCE and CAE for December 2008. On the way, the history attempts to balance theory and practice, fact and opinion, insider and outsider perspectives, recurring themes and key innovations. We see the scale of the FCE and CAE exams
grow from an initial candidature of just 144, to make a significant contribution to Cambridge ESOL's current total of over two million candidates in 130 countries.

This volume charts the development of the Cambridge teaching qualifications and tests, and presents case studies demonstrating their impact.Described by teacher and teacher educator Scott Thornbury as 'a very welcome addition to the literature on teacher assessment', this edited volume discusses key issues in assessing language teachers' professional skills and knowledge. It also provides case study illustrations of how teacher knowledge and teaching skills are assessed at pre-service and in-service levels within the framework of the Cambridge English Teaching Qualifications, and includes examples of specific assessment procedures for both teaching knowledge and practical classroom skills.

This volume explores the use of summary tasks as an effective means of assessing reading comprehension ability.It reports on a series of empirical studies that investigated the development and trialling of text-removed summary completion tasks and discusses the correlation of these tasks with results from independent measures to validate text-removed summary completion as a measure of reading comprehension ability.

Автори: Aleidine J. Moeller (editor), John W. Creswell (editor), Nick Saville (editor)

This volume provides a theoretical and practical discussion of mixed methods research and its application in language assessment. The authors present a discussion of the role of mixed methods design in language assessment, offering practical illustrations of different mixed method designs and decisions to be made in presenting mixed methods research. The volume also includes case studies from language assessment on the practical application of mixed methods.

The ALTE conference, Euopean Language Testing in a Global Context, was held in Barcelona in 2001 in support of the European Year of Languages. The conference papers presented in ths volume represent a small subset of the many excellent presentations made at that event. They have been selected to provide a flavour of the issues that the conference addressed.• This volume represents the only published collection arising from the ALTE conference in 2001 in support of the European Year of Languages

This volume examines the nature of second language listening proficiency and how it can be assessed. The book highlights the need for test developers to provide a clear explication of the ability constructs which underpin the tests they offer in the public domain. This is increasingly necessary if claims about the validity of test score interpretation and use are to be supported both logically and with empirical evidence. It operationalises a comprehensive test validation framework which adopts a socio-cognitive perspective. The framework embraces six core components, examining and then analysing Cambridge ESOL listening tasks from the following perspectives: Test Taker; Cognitive Validity; Context Validity; Scoring Validity; Criterion-related Validity; and Consequential Validity.

This publication highlights the need for test developers to provide clear explanations of the ability constructs which underpin tests offered in the public domain. An explanation is increasingly required or if the validity of test score interpretation and use are to be supported both logically and with empirical evidence. The book demonstates the application of a comprehensive test validation framework which adopts a socio-cognitive perspective. The framework embraces six core components which reflect the practical nature and quality of an actual testing event. It examines Cambridge ESOL writing tasks from the following perspectives: Test Taker, Cognitive Validity, Context Validity, Scoring Validity, Criterion-related Validity and Consequential Validity. The authors show how an understanding and analysis of the framework and its components in relation to specific writing tests can assist test developers to operationalise their tests more effectively, especially in relation to criterial distinctions across test levels.

This edited volume develops a theoretical framework for validating tests of second language ability. The chapter authors show how an understanding and analysis of the framework and its components can assist test developers to operationalise their tests more effectively, especially in relation to the key criteria that differentiate one proficiency level from another.The book provides an up-to-date review of the relevant literature on assessing speaking, an accessible and systematic description of the different proficiency levels in second language speaking and a comprehensive and coherent basis for validating tests of speaking.It will be of considerable interest to examination boards who wish to validate their own speaking tests in a systematic and coherent manner, as well as to academic researchers and graduate students in the field of language assessment more generally.

This publication highlights the need for test developers to provide clear explanations of the ability constructs which underpin tests offered in the public domain. An explanation is increasingly required, if the validity of test score interpretation and use are to be supported both logically, and with empirical evidence. The book demonstates the application of a comprehensive test validation framework which adopts a socio-cognitive perspective. The framework embraces six core components which reflect the practical nature and quality of an actual testing event. It examines Cambridge ESOL writing tasks from the following perspectives: Test Taker, Cognitive Validity, Context Validity, Scoring Validity, Criterion-related Validity and Consequential Validity. The authors show how an understanding and analysis of the framework and its components in relation to specific writing tests can assist test developers to operationalise their tests more effectively, especially in relation to criterial distinctions across test levels.

Aimed at researchers and students interested in language testing theory and practice, the chapters in this book vary in style and content and are both stimulating and robust. The book brings together a fascinating group of authors from the established to the new, presenting new ideas and challenging current orthodoxies.

This volume explores the impact of language frameworks on learning, teaching and assessment, viewed from the perspective of policies, procedures and challenges.It brings together a selection of edited papers, based on presentations given at the 4th International Conference of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) held in Kraków, Poland, in July 2011.The selected papers focus on the conference's core themes as follows: the effect of frameworks on teaching, learning and assessment; the value of frameworks for teachers, learners and language policymakers; the contribution of frameworks towards describing particular languages.

This volume brings together a set of ten IELTS-related research studies - four on Speaking and six on Writing - conducted between 1995 and 2001. The ten studies were funded under the auspices of the British Council/IELTS Australia Joint-funded Research Program which promotes research activity among IELTS test stakeholders around the world. Findings from the studies provided valuable evidence on the validity, reliability, impact and practicality of the IELTS test; they were also instrumental in highlighting aspects needing attention, and so directly informed the revised design and implementation of the IELTS Speaking and Writing Modules introduced in 2001 and 2005. The volume reviews and comments on the specific contribution of each study to the ongoing process of IELTS speaking and writing test development; it also evaluates the range of research methodologies used in the projects and discusses their usefulness for researchers working in the broader field of performance assessment.

This volume explores the impact of multilingualism on learning, teaching and assessment, viewed from the perspective of policies, procedures and challenges. Language Assessment for Multilingualism brings together a selection of edited papers based on presentations given at the Fifth International Conference of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) held in Paris, France, in April 2014. The selected papers focus on the conference's core themes: the effect of multilingualism on international mobility; how multilingualism can address the challenge of increasing linguistic diversity; the impact of intercultural communication on linguistic competence; and how to ensure fairness and quality in language assessment.