本书是外语教师培训和外语本科生及研究生学习语言与测试的核心教材，可以用于入学考试、水平考试和分级测试等语言测试项目设计，也可以用于课堂教学目的，如通过诊断性测试和成绩考试来评价学生的学习结果。

导读

Preface

Chaspter1 Types and Uses of Language Tests

Two Families of Language Tests

Norm-Referenced Tests

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Type of Interpretation

Type of Measurement

Purpose of the Testing

Distributions of Scores

Test Structure

Matching Tests to Decision Purposes

Program-Level Proficiency Decisions

Program-Level Placement Decisions

Classroom-Level Achievement Decisions

Classroom-Level Diagnostic Decisions

Why a Single Test Cannot Fulfill All Four Functions

Differences in Ranges of Ability

Differences in Variety of Content

Using Spreadsheet Programs in Language Testing

What Is a Spreadsheet Program?

How Will You Personally Benefit from Using a Spreadsheet Program in This Book?

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 2 Adopting, Adapting, and Developing Language Tests

Theoretical Issues

Language Teaching Methodology Issues

An Exceptionally Short History of Language Testing

Why Knowing about These Movements Is Important

The Competence/Performance Issue

The Discrete-Point/Integrative Issue

Practical Issues

The Fairness Issue

The Cost Issues

Ease of Test Construction

Ease of Test Administration

Ease of Test Scoring

Interactions of Theoretical Issues

Adopt, Adapt, or Develop?

Adopting Language Tests

Adapting Language Tests

Developing Language Tests

Putting Sound Tests in Place

Getting Started with Your Spreadsheet Program

Moving Around the Spreadsheet

Creating a Sample Spreadsheet

Entering Test Score Data to Create a Spreadsheet

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 3 Developing Good Quality Language Test Items

What is a Test Item?

Guidelines for Item Format Analysis

General Guidelines

Receptive Response Items

Productive Response Items

Personal Response Items

Why Bother with Item Format Analysis?

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Item Analysis in Language Testing

Norm-Referenced Item Analysis

Item Facility Analysis

Item Discrimination Analysis

Calculating Item Facility and Discrimination with Your Spreadsheet

NRT Development and Improvement Projects

Criterion-Referenced Item Analysis

Item Quality Analysis

CRT Development and Improvement Projects

Role of Item Facility

Difference Index

The B-Index

CRT Item Selection

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 5 Describing Language Test Results

Displaying Data

Graphic Display of Frequencies

Creating Graphs in ExcelTM

Scales of Measurement

Nominal Scales

Ordinal Scales

Continuous Scales

Descriptive Statistics

Central Tendency

Mean

Mode

Median

Midpoint

Dispersion

Range

High and Low

Standard Deviation

Variance

The Spreadsheet Approach to Descriptive Statistics

Reporting Descriptive Statistics

What Should Be Included?

How Should Descriptive Test Statistics be Displayed?

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 6 Interpreting Language Test Scores

Probability Distributions

Normal Distribution

CharacteristiCs of Normal Distributions

Central Tendency

Dispersion

Percents/Percentages

Learning from Distributions

Using Percents/Percentages

Percentiles

Standardized Scores

z Scores

T Scores

CEEB Scores

Computer-based TOEFL Scores

Standardized and Percentile Scores

The Importance of Standardized Scores

Skewed Distributions

Skewedness

Peaked Distributions

NRT and CRT Distributions

The Spreadsheet Approach to Standardized Scores

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 7 Correlation in Language Testing

Preliminary Definitions

Calculating the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient

Assumptions of the Pearson-Moment Correlation Coefficient

Calculating the Pearson Correlation Coefficient with a Spreadsheet

Interpreting Correlation Coefficients

Statistical Significance

Meaningfulness

Correlation Matrixes

Potential Problems with Correlational Analysis

Restriction of Range

Skewedness

Causality

Another Useful Type of Correlational Analysis

Point-Biserial Correlation Coefficient

Calculating the Point-Biserial Correlation Coefficient with a Spreadsheet

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 8 Language Test Reliability

Sources of Variance

Measurement Error

Variance Due to Environment

Variance Due to Adminstration Procedures

Variance Attributable to Examinees

Variance Due to Scoring Procedures

Variance Attributable to the Test and Test Items

Reliability of NRTs

Test-Retest Reliability

Equivalent-Forms Reliability

Internal-Consistency Reliability

Split-Half Reliability

Cronbach Alpha

Kuder-Richardson Formulas

Reliability of Rater Judgments

Interpreting Reliability Estimates

Standard Error of Measurement

Using a Spreadsheet to Calculate NRT Reliability

Split-Half (Adjusted) and Cronbach Alpha

Kuder-Richardson Formulas 20 and 21, and the SEM

Factors Affecting the Reliability of NRTs

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 9 Language Test Dependability

Threshold Loss Agreement Approaches

Agreement Coefficient

Kappa Coefficient

Estimating Threshold Loss Agreement from a Single Test Administration

Squared-Error Loss Agreement Approaches

Domain Score Dependability

Relationships

Cautions

Confidence Intervals

Using a Spreadsheet to Calculate CRT Reliability

Agreement and Kappa Estimates (Using the Subkoviak Method)

The Phi(lambda) Coefficient

The Phi Coefficient and Confidence Interval

Factors Affecting the Consistency of CRTs

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 10 Language Test Validity

Traditional Validity Strategies of Both NRTs and CRTs

Content Validity

Overall Strategy for Establishing Content Validity

An Example of the Importance of Item Planning in Regards to Content Validity

Content Validity and Other Types of Validity

Construct Validity

Differential-Groups Studies

Intervention Studies

Criterion-Related Validity: A Traditional Strategy for NRTs

Restrictions of Range and NRT Validity

Standard Setting

Reliability, Validity, and Standard Setting

Standards and Test Consistency

Standards and Test Validity

Other Issues Related to Validity

The Washback Effect

Factors Affecting the Impact of Washback

Negative Effects of Washback

Promoting Positive Washback

Testing Bias

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Chapter 11 Language Testing in Reality

The Place of Tests in Curriculum Planning

The ELI Language Program

Four Decision-Making Steps

Initial Screening Procedures

Placement Procedures

Second-Week Diagnostic Procedures

Achievement Procedures

Testing as an Integrated System

Review Questions

Application Exercises

Review Questions Answer Key

Glossary

Index

References