Validity and topic generality of a writing performance test

Language Testing

Volumn 24, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 307-330

  Lee, Hee Kyung ^a   Anderson, Carolyn ^b  

^a Yonsei University   (South Korea)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34447275914     PISSN: 02655322     EISSN: 14770946     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0265532207077200     Document Type: Article

References (35)

1. Agresti, A. 1996: An introduction to categorical data analysis. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
2. Agresti, A. 2002: Categorical data analysis, second edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
3. Breland, H., Lee, Y.W., Najarian, M. and Muraki, E. 2004: An analysis of TOEFL-CBT writing prompt difficulty and comparability for different gender groups. TOEFL Research Report No. 76. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
4. Brown, J.D., Hilgers, T. and Marsella, J. 1991: Essay prompts and topics: Minimizing the effects of mean differences. Written Communication 8, 533-56.
5. Brown, J.D. and Ross, J.A. 1996: Decision dependability of item types, sections, tests, and the overall TOEFL test battery. In Milanovic, M. and Saville, N., editors, Performance testing, cognition, and assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Carlson, S., Bridgeman, B., Camp, R. and Waanders, J. 1985: Relationship of admission test scores to writing performance of native and nonnative speakers of English. TOEFL Research Report No. 19. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
7. Chiang, C.S. and Dunkel, P. 1992: The effect of speech modification, prior knowledge and listening proficiency on EFL lecture learning. TESOL Quarterly 26, 345-74.
8. Cho, Y. 2001: Examining a process-oriented writing assessment in a largescale ESL testing contest. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
9. Chung, T. and Berry, V. 2000: The influence of subject knowledge and second language proficiency on the reading comprehension of scientific and technical discourse. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics 5, 27-52.
10. Clapham, C. 1996: The development of IELTS: A study of the effect of language background knowledge on reading comprehension. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11. Fowkles, E.B., Freeny, A.E. and Landwehr, J.M. 1988: Evaluating logistic models for large contingency tables. Journal of the American Statistical Society 83, 611-22.
12. Golub-Smith, M., Reese, C. and Steinhaus, K. 1993: Topic and topic type comparability on the Test of Written English. TOEFL Research Report 42. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
13. Hamp-Lyons, L. 1986: Testing second language writing in academic settings. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh.
14. Hamp-Lyons, L. 1993: Pre-text: Task-related influences on the writer. In Hamp-Lyons, L., editor, Assessing second language writing in academic contexts. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 87-110.
15. Hamp-Lyons, L. 1994: Second language writing: Assessment issues. In Kroll, D., editor, Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press, 69-87.
16. Hamp-Lyons, L. and Prochnow, S. 1990: Prompt difficulty, task type, and performance. Paper presented at the RELC Seminar on Testing and Evaluation, Singapore.
17. Hamp-Lyons, L. and Prochnow, S. 1994: Examining expert judgments of task difficulty on essay tests. Journal of Second Language Writing 3, 74-93.
18. Hoetker, J. 1982: Essay examination topics and students' writing. College Composition and Communication 33, 377-92.
19. Hoetker, J. and Brossell, G. 1989: The effects of systematic variations in essay topics on the writing performance of college freshman. College Composition and Communication 40, 75-95.
20. Jennings, M., Fox, J., Graves, B. and Shohamy, E. 1999: The test-taker's choice: An investigation of the effect of topic on language test performance. Language Testing 16, 226-56.
21. Jensen, C. and Hansen, C. 1995: The effect of prior knowledge on EAP listening-test performance. Language Testing 12, 99-119.
22. Kim, J. 2002: Computer-delivered ESL Writing Placement Test at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
23. Lee, H. 2002: Examining the impact of word processing on an ESL placement assessment. Unpublished paper equivalent to Master's thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
24. Lee, H. 2004: Constructing a field-specific writing test for an ESL placement procedure. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
25. Liu, H. 1997: Constructing and validating parallel forms of performance-based writing prompts in an academic setting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
26. Long, D.R. 1990: What you don't know can't help you. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 12, 65-80.
27. Philip, M.R. and Sheppard, O.K. 2004: Investigating the validity of TOEFL: A feasibility study using content and criterion-related strategies. TOEFL Research Report No. 71. Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service.
28. Pomplun, M., Wright, D., Oleka, N. and Sudlow, M. 1992: An analysis of English Composition Test prompts for differential difficulty. College Board Report 92-4. New York: The College Board.
29. Pyo, K. 2001: Construct validation of an integrated-approach EAP placement test using multi-group structural equation modeling. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
30. Reid, J. 1990: Responding to different topic types: A quantitative analysis from a contrastive rhetoric perspective. In Kroll, D., editor, Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press, 191-210.
31. Spaan, M. 1993: The effect of prompt in essay examinations. In Douglas, D. and Chapelle, C., editors, A new decade of language testing research. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Publications, 98-122.
32. Stapa, M. 2001: Assessing ESL writing performance: The influence of background knowledge on writing performance. Paper presented in annual meeting of Midwest Association of Language Testers (MwALT), Ann Arbor, MI.
33. Steward, S. 1999: An investigating of writing features which have predictive evidence of validity for EPT placement levels. Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
34. Tedick, D. 1990: ESL writing assessment: Subject-matter knowledge and its impact on performance. English for Specific Purposes 9, 123-43.
35. Weigle, S.C. 2002: Assessing writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.