NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1193707
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Oct
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0265-5322
EISSN: N/A
Do the TOEFL iBT® Section Scores Provide Value-Added Information to Stakeholders
Sawaki, Yasuyo; Sinharay, Sandip
Language Testing, v35 n4 p529-556 Oct 2018
The present study examined the reliability of the reading, listening, speaking, and writing section scores for the TOEFL iBT® test and their interrelationship in order to collect empirical evidence to support, respectively, the "generalization" inference and the "explanation" inference in the TOEFL iBT validity argument (Chapelle, Enright, & Jamieson, 2008). By combining Haberman's (2008) subscore analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), data from four operational TOEFL iBT test administrations were analyzed for all examinees and three major native language (L1) groups (Arabic, Korean, and Spanish). Key results were consistent across the forms and samples. First, Haberman's (2008) subscore analysis suggested that the reliabilities of the section scores were generally satisfactory but for the writing section the reliability was relatively low. Second, Haberman's subscore analysis and CFA offered different degrees of support for the distinctness of the TOEFL iBT section scores. A subsequent multiple-group CFA based on a correlated four-factor model generally supported the measurement invariance across the L1 groups in terms of factor loadings as well as indicator residuals and intercepts, despite the population heterogeneity indicated by the partial invariance of the latent factor variances and differences in the latent factor means across the groups. In addition, Haberman's subscore analysis suggested that the speaking section score offered value-added information owing to its generally high level of reliability and relative distinctness from the other three section scores, which is relevant to the "utilization" inference in the validity argument from a perspective of psychometric quality of the TOEFL iBT section scores.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A