1st Edition
Building a Validity Argument for the Test of English as a Foreign Language™
The Test of English as a Foreign Language ™ (TOEFL®) is used by more
universities worldwide than any other test to assess English language
proficiency for academic admission and placement decisions, and to guide
English language instruction.
This landmark volume provides a detailed description and analysis of Educational Testing Service’s research and development efforts to develop a major revision of the TOEFL® test. The result is a book that serves as a case study of test design drawing upon theory in the complex domain of English language proficiency while attempting to meet standards of educational measurement.
Building a Validity Argument for the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ is distinctive in its attempt to develop a coherent story of the rationale for a test or its revision, explain the research and development process, and provide the results of the validation process. Through its treatment of one test, it expands on and tests principles and approaches to educational measurement, providing an in-depth, integrated perspective on the overall process of test revision. Moreover, because the conceptual foundation and history are presented alongside the empirical studies and validity argument, these sometimes disparate areas are presented in a way that demonstrates their connections – an approach which represents a departure from, or extension of, conventional materials on test revision.
This volume is particularly relevant for professionals and graduate students in educational measurement, applied linguistics, and second language acquisition as well as anyone interested in assessment issues.
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
Chapter 1. Test Score Interpretation and Use
Carol A. Chapelle, Mary K. Enright, and Joan M. Jamieson
Chapter 2. The Evolution of the TOEFL
Carol A. Taylor and Paul Angelis
Chapter 3. Frameworks for a New TOEFL
Joan M. Jamieson, Daniel Eignor, William Grabe, and Antony John Kunnan
Chapter 4 .Prototyping New Assessment Tasks
Mary K. Enright, Brent Bridgeman, Daniel Eignor, Robert N. Kantor, Pamela Mollaun, Susan Nissan, Donald E. Powers, and Mary Schedl
Chapter 5 Prototyping Measures of Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing
Mary K. Enright, Brent Bridgeman, Daniel Eignor, Yong-Won Lee, and Donald E. Powers
Chapter 6. Prototyping a New Test
Kristen Huff, Donald E. Powers, Robert N. Kantor, Pamela Mollaun, Susan Nissan, and Mary Schedl
Chapter 7. Finalizing the Test Blueprint
Mari Pearlman
Chapter 8. A Final Analysis
Lin Wang, Daniel Eignor, and Mary K. Enright
Chapter 9. The TOEFL Validity Argument
Carol A. Chapelle
Appendix A. 1995 Working Assumptions That Underlie an Initial TOEFL 2000 Design Framework
Appendix B. Summary of 1995 Research Recommendations
Appendix C. Timeline of TOEFL Origins and the New TOEFL Project—Key Efforts and Decisions
Biography
Carol A. Chapelle, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Mary K. Enright, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey
Joan M. Jamieson, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
"… makes a significant contribution to the field of language assessment by bringing together in one volume all of the excellent work that has gone into the revision of one of the world’s most influential tests. A welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in assessment issues, both in the U.S. and internationally."
--Sarah Cushing Weigle, Georgia State University, U.S."… a unique and important contribution to the fields of educational measurement, applied linguistics, and language testing, Most of what one finds in the professional literature in terms of validation work involves research and analyses of data gathered from the use of an instrument that is already ‘live.’ What makes this volume so interesting and unique is that it offers measurement experts and language testers insights into how construct theory – in this case foreign/second language proficiency – and validity arguments come together to drive the test development process."
--Micheline Chaloub-Deville, University of Iowa, U.S.
