The effect of specificity of language test specifications on item construction
In criterion-referenced testing, test specifications presenting the explicit guidelines for the construction of test items have been regarded as a significant tool for securing content validity of the test. It is because the requirements or conditions for the development of test items stated in test specifications are believed to help construct the homogenous items originally intended, delimiting the scope of test items. The dilemma of this item construction method lies in the high degree of explicitness: The item writer is likely to ignore the detailed description of test specifications due to practical reasons such as lack of time and/or expense. Keeping these concerns in mind, this research aims to investigate the effect of the explicitness of language test specifications on item construction.
Education, Language and Literature, Education, Tests and Measurements
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign