Fred Davidson – författare

The creation of language tests is—and should be—a craft that is accessible and doable not only by a few language test experts, but also by many others who are involved in second/foreign language education, say the authors of this clear and timely book. Fred Davidson and Brian Lynch offer language educators a how-to guide for creating tests that reliably measure exactly what they are intended to measure. Classroom teachers, language administrators, and professors of language testing courses will find in this book an easy and flexible approach to language testing as well as the tools they need to develop tests appropriate to their individual needs.Davidson and Lynch explain criterion-related language test development, a process that focuses on the early stages of test development when the criterion to be tested is defined, specifications are established, and items and tasks are written. This process helps clarify the description of what is being measured by a test and enables teachers to give input on test design in any instructional setting. Informed by extensive research in criterion-referenced measurement, this book invites all language educators to participate in the craft of test development and shows them how to go about it.

Routledge Applied Linguistics is a series of comprehensive textbooks, providing students and researchers with the support they need for advanced study in the core areas of English language and Applied Linguistics.Each book in the series guides readers through three main sections, enabling them to explore and develop major themes within the discipline. Section A, Introduction, establishes the key terms and concepts and extends readers’ techniques of analysis through practical application. Section B, Extension, brings together influential articles, sets them in context, and discusses their contribution to the field. Section C, Exploration, builds on knowledge gained in the first two sections, setting thoughtful tasks around further illustrative material. This enables readers to engage more actively with the subject matter and encourages them to develop their own research responses. Throughout the book, topics are revisited, extended, interwoven and deconstructed, with the reader’s understanding strengthened by tasks and follow-up questions.Language Testing and Assessment: introduces students to the key methods and debates surrounding language testing and assessmentexplores the testing of linguistic competence of children, students, asylum seekers and many others in context of the uses to which such research can be putpresents influential and seminal readings in testing and assessment by names such as Michael Canale and Merrill Swain, Michael Kane, Alan Davies, Lee Cronbach and Paul Meehl, and Pamela Moss.The accompanying website to this book can be found at http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415339476/

Routledge Applied Linguistics is a series of comprehensive textbooks, providing students and researchers with the support they need for advanced study in the core areas of English language and Applied Linguistics.Each book in the series guides readers through three main sections, enabling them to explore and develop major themes within the discipline. Section A, Introduction, establishes the key terms and concepts and extends readers’ techniques of analysis through practical application. Section B, Extension, brings together influential articles, sets them in context, and discusses their contribution to the field. Section C, Exploration, builds on knowledge gained in the first two sections, setting thoughtful tasks around further illustrative material. This enables readers to engage more actively with the subject matter and encourages them to develop their own research responses. Throughout the book, topics are revisited, extended, interwoven and deconstructed, with the reader’s understanding strengthened by tasks and follow-up questions.Language Testing and Assessment: introduces students to the key methods and debates surrounding language testing and assessmentexplores the testing of linguistic competence of children, students, asylum seekers and many others in context of the uses to which such research can be putpresents influential and seminal readings in testing and assessment by names such as Michael Canale and Merrill Swain, Michael Kane, Alan Davies, Lee Cronbach and Paul Meehl, and Pamela Moss.The accompanying website to this book can be found at http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415339476/

This book documents a major study comparing the Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE) with the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to investigate similarities in test content, candidature and use. While both tests were designed to measure many of the same abilities, they represent radically different approaches to language test development, reflecting deeper differences between educational measurement traditions in the US and UK. The thorough investigation of the fundamental characteristics and operational utility of two of the most widely used English tests for foreign students makes this study a valuable contribution to language testing research. As such, it will be of considerable interest to language testing specialists and examination boards, as well as to academic researchers and graduate students in the field of language assessment more generally.

ABOUT THE APPROACH "I like the stress on a 'principled approach' to data handling. The author makes clear that data analysts need to be thoughtful, careful, and reflective; data handling is not viewed as simply a mechanical or routine activity." --George Engelhard Jr., Emory University GENERAL "Principles of Statistical Data Handling deals with the most neglected aspect of implementing a quantitative research design, that is preparing the data for statistical analysis. Because this part of the process is so often neglected it is the most common source of trouble when a quantitative research project crashes, produces gibberish, and has to be done all over again. Remarkably, the author writes an interesting and easy-to-read book on what might seem an irredeemably dreary and technical topic. I will recommend this book to almost every one of my students who plans to do a dissertation using quantitative data." W. Paul Vogt, State University of New York, Albany "Many of the topics and strategies covered in this text are very realistic, and most of us that have been involved in data analysis over the years can relate to the data handling problems mentioned in the text; the author has done an excellent job of sharing his wisdom from many years of practical work as a data analyst." --George Engelhard Jr., Emory University ABOUT THE WRITING STYLE "The writing style is clearly informal. The author speaks to the reader as a good teacher speaks to a student." --Robert F. DeVellis, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill "There is a delightful humor that comes through in this book and a playfulness that I enjoyed. The pace and level is appropriate for an introduction to data handling." --John W. Creswell, University of Nebraska, Lincoln ABOUT THE PEDAGOGY "The discussion questions are very, very good. I particularly like the idea of suggesting that the reader/student interact with some 'outsiders.'" --Carl J. Huberty, The University of Georgia Faulty data can lead to faulty conclusions, and because data often concern people--that can mean faulty conclusions about people. Aimed at helping readers understand the principles of data handling so that they can make better use of computer data in their research and studies, Principles of Statistical Data Handling shows readers how to input, manipulate, and debug their data to make substantive analysis easier and more accurate. Using a series of principles, universal concepts that apply no matter what the data gathering context or computer software, author Fred Davidson presents a situation or a problem, suggests how it might be resolved, and demonstrates the implementation of each principle as it appears in the command languages of SAS and SPSS. This volume is essential for graduate courses in data analysis or research methods taught out of psychology, education, and sociology departments. Researchers in these areas who want to brush-up on their techniques will also find Principles of Statistical Data Handling an indispensable book.