Research and practice in assessing academic English: the case of IELTS

Abstract

Test developers need to demonstrate they have premised their measurement tools on a sound theoretical framework which guides their coverage of appropriate language ability constructs in the tests they offer to the public. This is essential for supporting claims about the validity and usefulness of the scores generated by the test. This volume describes differing approaches to understanding academic reading ability that have emerged in recent decades and goes on to develop an empirically grounded framework for validating tests of academic reading ability. The framework is then applied to the IELTS Academic reading module to investigate a number of different validity perspectives that reflect the socio-cognitive nature of any assessment event. The authors demonstrate how a systematic understanding and application of the framework and its components can help test developers to operationalise their tests so as to fulfill the validity requirements for an academic reading test. The book provides: An up to date review of the relevant literature on assessing academic reading A clear and detailed specification of the construct of academic reading An evaluation of what constitutes an adequate representation of the construct of academic reading for assessment purposes A consideration of the nature of academic reading in a digital age and its implications for assessment research and test development The volume is a rich source of information on all aspects of testing academic reading ability. Examination boards and other institutions who need to validate their own academic reading tests in a systematic and coherent manner, or who wish to develop new instruments for measuring academic reading, will find it of interest, as will researchers and graduate students in the field of language assessment, and those teachers preparing students for IELTS (and similar tests) or involved in English for Academic Purpose programmes.