According to Kane (2006), the argument-based framework is quite simple and involves two steps. First, specify the proposed interpretations and uses of the scores in some detail. Second, evaluate the overall plausibility of the proposed interpretations and uses. Based on experience gained in developing that validity argument, Chapelle, Enright, and…

In this article, the author begins by discussing four challenges on the concept of validity. These challenges are: (1) the appeal to logic and syllogistic reasoning; (2) the claim of reliability; (3) the local and the universal; and (4) the unitary and the divisible. In language testing validity cannot be achieved directly but only through a…

The paper by Wilson and Moore (this volume), based on the Messick Lecture delivered in 2006 at the annual Language Testing Research Colloquium in Melbourne, may present a familiar challenge to some language testers: of reading outside one's comfort zone. The distinctive character of language testing lies in its combination of two primary fields of…

This paper presents the author's response to Xiaoming Xi's article titled "How do we go about investigating test fairness?" In this response, the author focuses on test fairness and Toulmin's model of argument structure, Xi's proposal, and the challenges the proposal brings. Xi proposes an approach to investigating test fairness to guide…

This article presents the author's response to Xiaoming Xi's paper titled "How do we go about investigating test fairness?" In the paper, Xi offers "a means to fully integrate fairness investigations and practice". Given the current importance accorded to fairness in the language testing community, Xi makes a case for viewing fairness as an aspect…

This paper presents the author's critique on Xiaoming Xi's article, "How do we go about investigating test fairness?," which lays out a broad framework for studying fairness as comparable validity across groups within the population of interest. Xi proposes to develop a fairness argument that would identify and evaluate potential fairness-based…

Just like buildings, tests are designed and built for specific purposes, people, and uses. However, both buildings and tests grow and change over time as the needs of their users change. Sometimes, they are also both used for purposes other than those intended in the original designs. This paper explores architecture as a metaphor for language…

In this speech, the author covers a lot of ground. In the first half of his speech, the author gives a brief summary of the last 40 years of the history of language testing, from his perspective. The author reviews these years more or less by decade. Additionally, he discusses the evolution of the profession of language testing during this period,…

Describes a statistical method for evaluating the translation equivalence of language test items that are scored dichotomously. Provides an illustration of the method to a portion of the verbal subtest of the Psychometric Entrance Test, which is a large-scale postsecondary admissions test used in Israel. (VWL)

Examines linguistic, psychometric, and clinical aspects of the Test for Sentence Development, a subtest of a new Dutch language production battery, the Schlichting Test voor Taalproductie. The advantage of the new test is that very young children can be assessed systematically, which was not possible previously. (Author/VWL)

Reviews assumptions underlying approaches to research into speaking task difficulty and questions the view that test scores always vary with task conditions or discourse variation. Offers a new approach to defining task difficulty in terms of the interaction between pragmatic task features and first language cultural background. Results of a study…

Considers how the nature of interaction may best be represented in the second language (L2) construct. The starting point is Bachman's model of communicative language ability, which, it is argued, incorporates interaction from an individual-focused cognitive perspective. (Author/VWL)

Describes a three-phase process model for interface design, drawing on practices developed in the software industry and adapting them for computer-based languages tests. Describes good practice in initial design, emphasizes the importance of usability testing, and argues that only through following a principled approach to interface design can the…

Presents the design and validation of an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) test for a commercial publisher. (Author/VWL)

Discusses problems in task-based language assessment, including the definition and sampling of tasks, generalizations across tasks, interpretations about broad ability and language use domains, and the notion of task difficulty. (Author/VWL)