Test of English for International Communication n
also TOEIC
a test of overall English language proficiency in real-life day-to-day and
business contexts, unlike the TOEFL test that focuses on academic English,
originally developed by the educational testing service but now
administered by the Chauncey Group International, a subsidiary of
ETS. The TOEIC test consists of two sections (Listening and Reading),
each with 100 multiple-choice items, and takes 2 hours for test takers
to complete.
Test of Spoken English n
also TSE
a semi-direct test of oral communication in English, developed by the
educational testing service, where test takers are asked to respond
orally on tape to a set of tape-recorded and text-based stimuli within
approximately 20 minutes. International students whose native languages
are not English and who apply for teaching assistantships may be required
to take the TSE test or the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kittest,
a locally administered TSE test.
Test of Written English n
also TWE
a direct test of academic writing, developed by the educational test-
ing service. Test takers are given 30 minutes to write an essay on an
assigned topic, which is scored by at least two raters on the basis of a six-
point scale. The TWE is offered on certain test dates as part of the paper-
based TOEFL test, where the TWE is scored separately from the TOEFL
test, or as part of one of the four sections of the computer-based TOEFL
test, where the TWE is mandatory for all test takers.
test-retest reliability n
an estimate of the reliability of a test determined by the extent to which a
test gives the same results if it is administered at two different times. It is
estimated from the coefficient of correlationthat is obtained from the
two administrations of the test.
test specifications n
a set of test-writing guidelines for deciding what a test is constructed to
measure and what language skills (e.g. listening, speaking, reading and
writing or an integration of these skills) and language content will be
measured in the test that is being developed.
see also item specifications
test specifications