Validating Second Language Reading Examinations: Establishing the Validity of the GEPT through Alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference

This volume describes an empirical framework for test validation and comparison of level-based test batteries. The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and two levels (Preliminary and First) of a CEFR-aligned multilevel test battery, served as external referents for a review of the similarities and differences between General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) reading components, and a five-level criterion-referenced EEFL testing system, developed in the Taiwanese education context, targeting CEFR levels B1 and B2. Findings from the studies support the validity of the GEPT in general, and suggest the procedures recommended by the Council of Europe for linking examinations to the CEFR are not effective in ensuring equivalence between different examinations targeting the same CEFR level.

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and two levels (Preliminary and First) of a CEFR-aligned multilevel test battery, served as external referents for a review of the similarities and differences between General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) reading components, and a five-level criterion-referenced EEFL testing system, developed in the Taiwanese education context, targeting CEFR levels B1 and B2. Findings from the studies support the validity of the GEPT in general, and suggest the procedures recommended by the Council of Europe for linking examinations to the CEFR are not effective in ensuring equivalence between different examinations targeting the same CEFR level.