In Chapter 13, the author takes readers through the process of reflecting on their language assessment literacy after going through the materials in the book, compared to when they began reading the book. The author encourages readers to identify areas of language assessment literacy that they want to continue to develop as they go further on their language assessment literacy journey. The chapter also includes two self-assessments to help readers determine how well they understood the concepts in the book and how well they can apply them to real-world language assessment contexts. One of the assessments is a multiple-choice reading assessment and the other is an oral communication performance assessment. The assessments target readers knowledge and application of the principles that they studied in the book.

In Chapter 7, the author introduces both content analysis and basic statistical analysis to help evaluate the effectiveness of assessments. The focus of the chapter is on guidelines for creating and evaluating reading and listening inputs and selected response item types, particularly multiple-choice items that accompany these inputs. The author guides readers through detailed evaluations of reading passages and accompanying multiple-choice items that need major revisions. The author discusses generative artificial intelligence as an aid for drafting inputs and creating items and includes an appendix which guides readers through the use of ChatGPT for this purpose. The author also introduces test-level statistics, including minimum, maximum, range, mean, variance, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. The author shows how to calculate these statistics for an actual grammar tense test and includes an appendix with detailed guidelines for conducting these analyses using Excel software.

In Chapter 12, the author discusses approaches to judging the effectiveness of both criterion-referenced and norm-reference performance assessments. The chapter includes guidelines for helping create or evaluate performance assessments for particular contexts. It also describes how to use statistical techniques for the same purpose. The chapter presents actual ratings from a classroom-based group oral discussion test and shows how teachers used statistics to determine both score dependability and reliability. The author discusses how to calculate coefficient agreement to help determine the dependability of the assessment and Cronbach’s Alpha to help determine its reliability. A major point of the chapter is that when certain conditions exist, test users can exploit an assessment to determine test takers’ mastery of language criteria (criterion-referenced purpose) and to compare their abilities (norm-referenced purpose). The author provides an appendix that shows readers how to use Excel software to calculate the statistics in the chapter.

In Chapter 6, the author introduces dichotomously scored items and their common use with receptive language abilities, such as listening and reading, and knowledge-based language, including vocabulary and grammar. The author discusses some common dichotomously scored item types, including multiple-choice, true–false, and short-answer items. The strengths and weaknesses of each item type for particular contexts is a major focus. The chapter introduces various principles for creating or selecting inputs for listening and reading assessments, including when to use scripted, authentic, or authenticated speech, and particular speech varieties and visuals for listening. The author also discusses item preview, or the presentation of the questions and/or answer options prior to reading or listening, and the number of times test administrators should allow test takers to listen to an input. The focus is on the language assessment principles that underlie these decisions.

In Chapter 8, the author introduces readers to item-level statistics and Cronbach’s Alpha as an estimate of internal reliability, all of which are useful for analyzing and revising dichotomously scored language assessments. The chapter focuses on two item-level statistics: item facility, or how easy an item is for a group of test takers, and point-biserial, which provides an indication of how well an item measures the targeted language ability. The author shows readers how to calculate these values and interpret their meaning for particular language assessment contexts. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how to calculate and interpret reliability based on Cronbach’s Alpha. The author also provides guidelines for interpreting reliability estimates for various language assessment contexts. An appendix provides guidance for using Excel software to calculate these statistics.

In Chapter 2, the author introduces some basic language assessment principles and various approaches to language assessment. It begins with a discussion of stakes, objectiveness, and frame of reference. The main focus is on the difference between criterion-referenced tests, where people use tests to compare test takers’ abilities to certain standards, and norm-referenced assessments, where they use tests to compare test takers’ abilities to those of others. In this chapter, the author also introduces some approaches to language assessment, namely dynamic, learning-oriented, self-, formative, summative, and portfolio assessment. The author describes each of these approaches and discusses how they inform the approach to language assessment that guides the subsequent chapters of the book. The author also briefly describes the purpose and uses of diagnostic, placement, proficiency, and standardized tests. The chapter includes some examples that provide readers with opportunities to experience different approaches to assessment.

In Chapter 5, the author lays out the principles of uniformity – the consistency of the setting, content, and scoring procedures – and reliability, which is the consistency and stability of assessment scores. The chapter details the aspects of setting, content, and scoring procedures in various assessment contexts and what measures test users should take to maintain their consistency across test takers and test administrations. The chapter includes a discussion of the role of test accommodations, and how researchers can balance the needs of test takers with the principles of uniformity and reliability. An important feature of the chapter is the introduction of assistive technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence for helping ensure uniformity in an assessment context. The chapter concludes with a brief introduction to the concepts of test-retest, parallel forms, and internal reliability.