Placing non-native speakers of English into appropriate classes involves mapping placement test scores onto proficiency levels based on predetermined cut scores. However, studies on how to set boundaries for different levels of proficiency have been lacking in the language testing literature. A top-down approach to standard setting in which a…

The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test is a new English language proficiency test in the "TOEFL"® family of assessments. It measures foundational language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. The test covers the four language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking and is intended…

This manual has been prepared for those responsible for interpreting scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). In addition to test interpretation information, the manual describes the test, explains the TOEFL program, and discusses program research activities. The TOEFL was developed in 1963 to test the English-language…

The abilities measured by the First Certificate of English (FCE) administered by the Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate are compared with the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service. The analyses suggest that the FCE and TOEFL appear to measure the same common aspect of language…

Connor comments on Raimes' research on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) essay component, the Test of Written English (TWE), and the practices of the Educational Testing Service. Raimes' response is directed toward the TWE research agenda. (five references) (Author/LB)

Describes the development of the Educational Testing Service's (ETS) tests of composition for native speakers of English and of the Test of English as a Foreign Language's (TOEFL) Test of Written English (TWE). Recommendations are provided for carefully scrutinizing new developments in ETS testing as they affect students. (39 references) (GLR)

Two members and a former member of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Policy Council respond to Raimes' concerns about the TOEFL Test of Written English, particularly regarding the Educational Testing Service's research agenda and its effect on English-as-a-Second-Language instruction and graduate school admission. (17 references)…

The current study, carried out jointly by Test Development and Statistical Analysis staff at Educational Testing Service investigated the feasibility of the Automated Item Selection (AIS) procedure for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Item-response theory (IRT)-based statistical specifications were developed. Two TOEFL test forms…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if comparisons between scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) are justifiable. The test scores of 216 Iranian graduate students who took the TOEFL and IELTS, as well as the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Higher…

This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that items of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) containing reference to American people, places, customs, etc., tend to favor examinees who have spent some time living in the United States. Two samples of examinees were drawn from the March 1987 TOEFL administration, one tested in…

An essay test is now an integral part of the computer based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL-CBT). This paper provides a brief overview of the current TOEFL-CBT essay test, describes the operational procedures for essay scoring, including the Online Scoring Network (OSN) of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and discusses major…

Two procedures were developed to determine whether examinees in a given test center were affected by a testing irregularity on the Listening Comprehension section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). One approach employed analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on Listening Comprehension (Section 1) means using scores on Structure and…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) program is exploring a change in Section 3 of the TOEFL test that would replace the vocabulary subpart with additional reading comprehension questions. This study investigated the proposed revision in terms of the length and timing that would be necessary to address concerns of test speededness of…

This study examined the effects of taking notes in the portion of the Test of English as a Foreign language (TOEFL) listening comprehension section that contains short monologues, or "mini-talks." These effects were assessed in experimental testing sessions with students in intensive English language programs and with undergraduate and…

The feasibility of using linear and equipercentile equating methods (W. H. Angoff, 1984) to equate forms of the Test of Written English (TWE) by using the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as an anchor was explored. These two equating methods assume that either the TOEFL test and TWE test measure the same skills or that the examinee…