Weir Cyril. Language Testing and Validation. An Evidence-based Approach

Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. — 301 p. — (Research and Practice in Applied Linguistics). — ISBN13: 9781403911896.The language testing we are concerned with the extent to which a test can be shown to produce scores that are an accurate reflection of a candidate's ability in a particular area, e.g., careful reading to extract main ideas from a text, writing an argumentative essay, breadth of vocabulary knowledge, or spoken interaction with peers. It demands an understanding of both trait and method.Trait is concerned with the underlying construct/abilities we wish to measure in students, the What of language testing. Method deals with the How, the instruments we develop to provide us with the information about these construct(s).