IS THERE ANY INTERACTION BETWEEN BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY THAT AFFECTS TOEFL IBT^® READING PERFORMANCE?

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the interaction between test takers' background knowledge and language proficiency on their performance on the TOEFL iBT ® reading section. Test takers with the target content background knowledge (the focal groups) and those without (the reference groups) were identified for each of the 5 selected passages based on their selfidentified academic and cultural backgrounds. The test takers were further classified into high and low proficiency groups based on their TOEFL iBT scores. Differential functioning was investigated at the item, item bundle, and passage levels. The results suggested that background knowledge interacted with language proficiency on certain items, which could be attributed to idiosyncratic passage and item characteristics (i.e., characteristics that were specific to a particular passage or item . One constant throughout this evolution has been a continuing program of research related to the TOEFL test. From 1977 to 2005, nearly 100 research and technical reports on the early versions of TOEFL were published. In 1997, a monograph series that laid the groundwork for the development of TOEFL iBT was launched. With the release of TOEFL iBT, a TOEFL iBT report series has been introduced.Currently this research is carried out in consultation with the TOEFL Committee of Examiners. Its members include representatives of the TOEFL Board and distinguished English as a second language specialists from the academic community. The Committee advises the TOEFL program about research needs and, through the research subcommittee, solicits, reviews, and approves proposals for funding and reports for publication. Members of the Committee of Examiners serve four-year terms at the invitation of the Board; the chair of the committee serves on the Board. Current (2011Current ( -2012 To obtain more information about the TOEFL programs and services, use one of the following:

Reading Comprehension of Subject-specific Texts in a Foreign Language

“…The results of empirical studies exploring background knowledge are affected by how BK is operationalized, and it is worth noting that the majority of studies so far have used indi rect BK measures. More specifically, BK has been measured through: a) readers' selfas sessment of content familiarity (Brantmeier, 2003;Pulido, 2007;Leeser, 2007;McNeil, 2010;Eidswick, 2010;Lahuerta Martinez, 2013;Horiba & Fukaya, 2015), b) readers' study discipline, (Lee, 2007;Hill & Liu, 2012), c) a combination of familiarity assess ment, study discipline and some other indirect factor (Clapham, 1996;Krekeler, 2006) or d) free introspection on a given topic (Bernhardt, 1991). Only a handful of studies to date have used direct measures of BK by testing it (UsoJuan, 2006;Kelly, 2014;Erçetin, 2019).…”

The Effect of the TOEFL Preparation Program on Reading Skills and Structure Mastery of Prospective Students

“…They must have spiritual attitudes, interests, ideals, confidence, freedom of spirit, and must be disciplined in carrying out all their duties and obligations as a student (Liu, 2014). The other requisite is that they live in a good home and college environment, and must have good physical and mental health (Hill & Liu, 2012).…”

Measuring English language proficiency across subgroups: Using score equity assessment to evaluate test fairness

“…The test-taker background characteristics included in population invariance studies tend to be limited to those that are more readily collected during the test administration such as gender, age, ethnicity, or geographic region (Holland, 2003). However, in the field of language testing, a number of additional test-taker background characteristics have been shown to be related to language ability and performance on language tests (Bachman, 1990(Bachman, , 2000Gradman & Hanania, 1991;Gu, 2014;Hill & Liu, 2012;Kunnan, 1998;Manna & Yoo, 2015;Shin, 2005;Yoo & Manna, 2017), and thus should be included in invariance studies. These additional characteristics include cognitive ability, native language, cultural background, and language learning background, including educational level, time spent studying English, academic major of currently enrolled test taker, or academic major of highest degree.…”