Objective language testing

Author: Bernard Spolsky (Spolsky)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-05-01
Features: The book is divided into two parts. The first part, titled "The History of Objective Language Testing," discusses the driving forces behind testing, reviews the emergence of new language tests between 1913 and 1935, the spread and establishment of psychometrics, new developments in language testing technology in the 1930s, the birth of language testing serving national interests during World War II, the professionalization of language testing, and the process of its growing maturity between 1954 and 1965. Through a review of the history of language testing development, the author reveals the inevitable trend of testing moving toward objectivity. The second part, titled "TOEFL and the Rise of American English Testing," reviews the gestation, birth, and development of the TOEFL exam, discusses the rise of public and college testing, and analyzes the influence of institutional, political, and economic factors on testing theory.