This report is the second in a multi-part technical report series describing the development, calibration and validation of standards-based tests for English as a first foreign language at the Institute for Educational Progress (Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen, IQB) in Berlin, Germany. It details the empirical basis of the calibration of the test item pool and criterion-referenced standard-setting procedures. The aim is to make transparent the decisions, methods and procedures which led to the setting of cut-scores in alignment with the National Educational Standards (NES) (i.e., the Länderübergreifende Bildungsstandards) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF) for English as a first foreign language. Standards were set for the lower secondary school level of Hauptschulabschluss and Mittlerer Bildungsabschluss. This second report describes the process of relating the standards-based proficiency tests to the CEF levels, delineating the purpose of the tests, the aims of the standard-setting procedures, the rationale of the chosen procedures, and the use of the Manual for Linking Language Examinations to the CEF. This is followed by a detailed description of the two standard-setting methods employed, the Bookmark method and the computer-assisted Criterion Mapping method—developed and implemented by the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, University of California. This volume provides information on how the standard-setting sessions were conducted in collaboration with BEAR Center, and describes procedures, data gathering, and issues and problems which arose during the course of the study. The report concludes with a synthesis of the standard-setting study’s results, and discusses the implications of how these results are reported and presented to stakeholders and policy makers.

A critical examination of the ways in which English is conceptualised for learning, teaching, and assessment in a range of domains, from both social and cognitive perspectives. Researchers and postgraduates working on English in L1 and L2 educational contexts will find it valuable for research and collaboration.

The Diagnosis of Writing in a Second or Foreign Language is a comprehensive survey of diagnostic assessment of second/foreign language (SFL) writing. In this innovative book, a compelling case is made for SFL writing as an individual, contextual, and multidimensional ability, combining several theoretically informed approaches upon which to base diagnosis. Using the diagnostic cycle as the overarching framework, the book starts with the planning phase, cover design, development, and delivery of diagnostic assessment, ending with feedback and feed-forward aspects to feed diagnostic information into the teaching and learning process. It covers means to diagnose both the writing processes and products, including the design and development of diagnostic tasks and rating scales, as well as automated approaches to assessment. Also included is a range of existing instruments and approaches to diagnosing SFL writing. Addressing large-scale as well as classroom contexts, this volume is useful for researchers, teachers, and educational policy-makers in language learning.

This book is a practical guide to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001) and the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/ CV; COE 2018), which have increasingly been used to inform the language policies and teaching practices of countries within and outside of Europe. It helps practitioners to (i) grasp essential and core concepts of the Common European Framework of Reference, (ii) identify parts of the CEFR and the CEFR/CV as well as other CEFR-related resources and documents that are relevant for readers’ different purposes, and (iii) utilise and adapt these resources for their own needs. Written by practitioners for practitioners, this hands-on guide covers the philosophy of the CEFR, curricula, assessment, learner autonomy, the task-based approach, and teacher development. Logically explaining all aspects of the framework and its application, this manual helps readers deal with many of the difficulties encountered when using CEFR and the CEFR CV. The book will appeal to a wide audience, including teacher educators; curriculum and materials developers; examination boards unfamiliar with the CEFR; university language departments and language centres responsible for developing their own curricula, teaching/learning approaches and assessment instruments; and policy-makers wanting to learn more about the implications of adopting the CEFR. It is a guidebook, a reference book and a workbook all in your hand.

The main focus of this volume is test development and accreditation requirements and needs. One of the major objectives here is to show the key aspects of the application of assessment in higher education and the systems of accreditation. Thanks to its unique perspective, it offers a different approach on various aspects of second language assessment. As universities are one of the best arenas for the analysis of language testing, the book thoroughly prepares higher education teachers to apply pilot studies and shows students’ responses to new testing techniques and accreditation requirements. It offers an enlightening guide for scholars with an academic interest in acquiring the basic principles of language testing and accreditation, providing real cases of how new ways of testing and accreditation can be useful to second language teachers and students. Readers will not only come to understand how to use new testing strategies, but also have the opportunity to see that the proposals described in each chapter may be useful to language assessment and motivation of students.

In recent decades, the science of reading acquisition has been advancing through interdisciplinary research in cognitive, psycholinguistic, developmental, genetic, neuroscience, cross-language, and experimental comparison studies of effective instruction. Some of the science of reading has emerged from the theory and research into the realm of practice and policy. Yet the science and practice of measuring “reading comprehension” has remained relatively immune to much of this foundational knowledge. Measuring Up questions the traditional format of reading comprehension tests, typically a single series of questions asked about a series of passages, and offers ideas and innovations we might expect in a next generation of 21st century reading assessments. Sabatini, Albro, and O'Reilly believe that in light of the move towards Common Core State Standards and assessments, as well as significant national investments in reading and literacy education, it is a critical and opportune time to bring together the research and measurement community to address fundamental issues of measuring reading comprehension, both in theory and in practice.