Limited Aspects of Reality: Frames of Reference in Language Assessment

Autor/inn/en	Fulcher, Glenn; Svalberg, Agneta
Titel	Limited Aspects of Reality: Frames of Reference in Language Assessment
Quelle	In: International Journal of English Studies, 13 (2013) 2, S.1-19 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1578-7044
Schlagwörter	Language Tests; Standardized Tests; Criterion Referenced Tests; Formative Evaluation; Measurement; Scores; Comparative Analysis; Test Construction; Standard Setting; Content Validity; Rating Scales + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Language test; Sprachtest; Standadised tests; Standardisierter Test; Messverfahren; Testaufbau; Standardisierung; Rating-Skala
Abstract	Language testers operate within two frames of reference: norm-referenced (NRT) and criterion-referenced testing (CRT). The former underpins the world of large-scale standardized testing that prioritizes variability and comparison. The latter supports substantive score meaning in formative and domain specific assessment. Some claim that the criterion-referenced enterprise is dead, save its legacy in score reporting (Davidson, 2012, p. 198). We argue that announcing the demise of CRT is premature. But we do acknowledge that what now passes as CRT is in fact not criterion-referenced, but is based upon a corruption of the original meaning of "criterion" as domain-specific performance. This distortion took place when NRT co-opted the term "standard" to serve as a rationale for the measurement enterprise of establishing cut-scores to retrofit NR tests with meaning derived from external scales. The true heirs of the CRT movement are researchers who base test design in the careful analysis of construct and content in domain specific communication. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	University of Murcia. Department of English Philology Merced Campus, Calle Santo Cristo 1, Murcia 30071 Spain. Tel: +34-868-88-3406; Fax: +34-868-88-3409; e-mail: publicaciones@um.es; Web site: http://www.um.es/ijes
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10