英语论文网

Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, Vol. 6, No. 2
A Reading and Writing Placement Test: Design, Evaluation, and Analysis
A Reading and Writing Placement Test:
Design, Evaluation, and Analysis

留学生作业代写https://www.51lunwen.org/StudentPapers.html

Hyun Jung Kim1 and Hye Won Shin2
Teachers College, Columbia University
ABSTRACT
Placement tests, along with the growing interest in their validation, have become increasingly important in English as a Second Language programs. To this end, the present paper illustrates procedures in designing a placement test and using it to evaluate students’ language ability by means of statistical analysis. 29 participants from three proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) took reading and writing placement test sections. Students’ performance at each proficiency level was analyzed separately and compared across proficiency levels. In addition, analyses of responses on a survey revealed a relationship between language learning attitudes and behaviors exhibited by the participants and their performance on the placement test. Through close examination of the process of placement test design, evaluation, and analysis, this paper provides practical guidelines for reading and writing placement testing.
INTRODUCTION
As Brown (2005) emphasized, a placement test should efficiently separate students into appropriate levels with high reliability and validity. Unfortunately, teachers are often unaware of placement Assessment processes. As a result, they often fail to balance their focus on Assessment and teaching itself, which should be always considered together. The current study provides a practical example of the whole process of placement testing including design, evaluation, and analysis, an area often overlooked by teachers.
Thus, the purpose of our study is threefold: (a) to develop an ESL placement test that measures reading and writing abilities effectively, (b) to evaluate the test results to determine whether the test achieves its objective in grouping students into appropriate levels, and (c) to investigate the determinants of reading and writing abilities based on a questionnaire by employing ANOVA and multiple regression analysis. In the following sections, we present a conceptual framework for designing reading and writing sections of a placement test that is based on prior research. We then discuss the planning and development of the reading and
1 Hyun Jung Kim is a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include second language assessment and applied psychometrics. Correspondence should be sent to Hyun Jung Kim, 37 Bergen Blvd. Apt #1, Fairview, NJ 07022. Email: hjk2104@columbia.edu.
2 Hye Won Shin is a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include second language acquisition and assessment. Correspondence should be sent to Hye Won Shin, 3241 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Apt. 202, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Email: hwyu73@hotmail.com. Retrievable at https://www.tc.columbia.edu/tesolalwebjournal
1
Teachers College, Columbia University Working Papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, Vol. 6, No. 2
A Reading and Writing Placement Test: Design, Evaluation, and Analysis
writing placement tests, including the target language use domain, design statement, item coding for the multip