Validation of Language Assessments

Abstract

Validation is an activity that establishes the extent to which a language assessment is meaningful and useful. This activity involves the collection of different types of evidence in order to make a holistic evaluation of an assessment's fitness for a purpose. Several frameworks have been introduced to guide the collection and evaluation of this evidence for language assessments, and the argument‐based approach has become increasingly prominent. This entry outlines the consensus view of validation, highlights prominent validation frameworks and their extensions, and provides a brief overview of prevailing concerns for validation.

Validity Argument in Language Testing

“…However, research on language tests is for the most part validation research because researchers investigate how well suited tests are for drawing inferences about test takers' ability and future performance as well as how good their scores are for making decisions. Such research has been defined, analyzed, and chronicled as validation in language testing (Chapelle, 1999(Chapelle, , 2012Schmidgall & Xi, 2020;Xi, 2008). Key concepts in such analyses come from Messick's seminal chapter on validity in an edited volume entitled Educational Measurement.…”