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The effect of topic variation in performance testing: the case of the chemistry TEACH test for international teaching assistants

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, papajohn{at}uxl.cso.uiuc.edu

Topic is believed to be an important test-method characteristic in many types of language tests. Some test developers choose neutral test topics in order to nullify the effect of background knowledge. Yet there is a need to determine how well prospective international teaching assistants can communicate within their own field. Recent studies have compared test results between general and field-specific oral English tests. Yet field-specific performance tests for international teaching assistants often provide different topics within the same field for each examinee, assuming equivalency between topics. The comparison of general topics versus field-specific topics is unable to capture the full effect of topic. This study reports research into topic features and the effect topic variation has on a performance test, the chemistry TEACH test, designed for intrnational teaching assistants. Results suggest a relationship between topic of input (as defined by the topic features of concepts, math and calculations) and test scores on the chemistry TEACH test.

Language Testing, Vol. 16, No. 1, 52-81 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/026553229901600104


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