Language Assessment - Courses

Courses

Language assessment or language testing courses are taught as required or elective courses in many graduate and doctoral programs, particularly in the subjects of applied linguistics, English for Speakers of Other Languages, English as a second or foreign language, or educational linguistics. These programs are known as MA or PhD programs in Applied Linguistics, Educational Linguistics, TESOL, TEFL, or TESL. The focus of most courses is on test development, psychometric qualities of tests, validity, reliability and fairness of tests, and classical true score measurement theory. Additional courses focus on item response theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, G theory, latent growth modeling, qualitative analysis of test performance data such as conversation and discourse analysis, and politics and language policy issues.

Universities that have regular courses and programs that focus on language assessment at the Ph.D. level include UCLA, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, University of Hawai'i, Manoa, Teachers College, Columbia University, Penn State University, Georgia State University, Northern Arizona University, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of Lancaster, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, and University of Bedfordshire; at the MA level include California State Universities at Fullerton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Jose, and San Francisco.