Chapter Principles of Language Assessment

Validity

• For example, a valid test of reading ability actually measures reading ability;
• Five types of validity: content validity, criterion-related validity, construct validity, consequential validity, and face validity;
• Content validity: A test adequately and sufficiently measures the particular skills/behavior it sets out to measure;
• If you are trying to assess a person’s ability to speak a second language in a conversational setting, asking the learner to answer paper-and-pencil multiple-choice questions requiring grammatical judgments does not achieve content validity.
• Examples: A test that requires the learner actually to speak within an authentic context (T);
• An oral test asks students to answer multiple-choice questions requiring grammatical judgments (F);
• Direct testing involves the test-taker in actually performing the target task. e.g. producing target words orally;

Criterion-Related Validity

• Criterion-related validity: a form of validity in which a test is compared or correlated with an outside criterion measure;
• In the case of teacher-made classroom assessments, criterion-related evidence is best demonstrated through a comparison of results of an assessment with results of some other measure of the same criterion;
• Criterion-related evidence usually falls into one of two categories: (1) concurrent and (2) predictive validity. ;
• Concurrent validity: A test has concurrent validity if its results are supported by other concurrent performance beyond the assessment itself. For example, a high score on the final exam. will be substantiated by actual proficiency in the language;
• Predictive validity: A test accurately predicts future performance. e.g. a language aptitude test predicts second/foreign language ability

Construct Validity

• A construct is any theory, hypothesis, or method that attempts to explain observed phenomena in our universe of perceptions;
• For example, “proficiency” and “communicative competence” are linguistic constructs;
• Construct validity: The test items can reflect the essential aspects of the theory on which the test is based. (e.g. the relationship between a test of communicative competence and the theory of c. c.);
• The scoring analysis for the interview includes: pronunciation, fluency, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary use, and socio-linguistic appropriateness;
• If an proficiency interview includes only pronunciation and grammar being evaluated, the construct validity is questionable. (TOEFL);