Exploring the Validity of a CEFR-Aligned Placement Test through Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Approaches

Authors : Merve Selçuk

Pages : 48-70

View : 35 | Download : 10

Publication Date : 2025-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Researchers in the field of language assessment have generally overlooked the area of placement test validation despite the importance of such measures. This paper describes the second phase of the research which aims at collecting evidence to judge the degree to which the use of an in-house selected response English as a foreign language (EFL) placement test. To serve this purpose, data were collected from a variety of subjects employing various instruments. Initially, the placement test was administered to 789 EFL university students at four proficiency levels employing a pre- and post-test design, with an 8 week interval to collect construct validity evidence. Added to this, the course teachers (n= 43) have been requested to report whether each student in their classroom has been placed accurately based on placement test scores. The paper concludes by discussing the findings to evaluate the validity of the test.
Keywords : validity, language assessment, norm referenced test, placement test

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