Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades

It is not uncommon for immigration-seekers to be actively involved in taking various language tests for immigration purposes. Given the large-scale and high-stakes nature those language tests possess, the validity issues (e.g., appropriate score-based interpretations and decisions) associated with t...

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Autores principales:	Don Yao, Matthew P. Wallace
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	language assessment immigration validation review Assessment Use Argument framework Psychology BF1-990
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/68562be945014f69a34ea2a625055f3c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:68562be945014f69a34ea2a625055f3c2021-11-11T10:23:56ZLanguage Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades1664-107810.3389/fpsyg.2021.773132https://doaj.org/article/68562be945014f69a34ea2a625055f3c2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.773132/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/1664-1078It is not uncommon for immigration-seekers to be actively involved in taking various language tests for immigration purposes. Given the large-scale and high-stakes nature those language tests possess, the validity issues (e.g., appropriate score-based interpretations and decisions) associated with them are of great importance as test scores may play a gate-keeping role in immigration. Though interest in investigating the validity of language tests for immigration purposes is becoming prevalent, there has to be a systematic review of the research foci and results of this body of research. To address this need, the current paper critically reviewed 11 validation studies on language assessment for immigration over the last two decades to identify what has been focused on and what has been overlooked in the empirical research and to discuss current research interests and future research trends. Assessment Use Argument (AUA) framework of Bachman and Palmer (2010), comprising four inferences (i.e., assessment records, interpretations, decisions, and consequences), was adopted to collect and examine evidence of test validity. Results showed the consequences inference received the most investigations focusing on immigration-seekers’ and policymakers’ perceptions on test consequences, while the decisions inference was the least probed stressing immigration-seekers’ attitude towards the impartiality of decision-making. It is recommended that further studies could explore more kinds of stakeholders (e.g., test developers) in terms of their perceptions on the test and investigate more about the fairness of decision-making based on test scores. Additionally, the current AUA framework includes only positive and negative consequences that an assessment may engender but does not take compounded consequences into account. It is suggested that further research could enrich the framework. The paper sheds some light on the field of language assessment for immigration and brings about theoretical, practical, and political implications for different kinds of stakeholders (e.g., researchers, test developers, and policymakers).Don YaoMatthew P. WallaceFrontiers Media S.A.articlelanguage assessmentimmigrationvalidationreviewAssessment Use Argument frameworkPsychologyBF1-990ENFrontiers in Psychology, Vol 12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	language assessment immigration validation review Assessment Use Argument framework Psychology BF1-990
spellingShingle	language assessment immigration validation review Assessment Use Argument framework Psychology BF1-990 Don Yao Matthew P. Wallace Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
description	It is not uncommon for immigration-seekers to be actively involved in taking various language tests for immigration purposes. Given the large-scale and high-stakes nature those language tests possess, the validity issues (e.g., appropriate score-based interpretations and decisions) associated with them are of great importance as test scores may play a gate-keeping role in immigration. Though interest in investigating the validity of language tests for immigration purposes is becoming prevalent, there has to be a systematic review of the research foci and results of this body of research. To address this need, the current paper critically reviewed 11 validation studies on language assessment for immigration over the last two decades to identify what has been focused on and what has been overlooked in the empirical research and to discuss current research interests and future research trends. Assessment Use Argument (AUA) framework of Bachman and Palmer (2010), comprising four inferences (i.e., assessment records, interpretations, decisions, and consequences), was adopted to collect and examine evidence of test validity. Results showed the consequences inference received the most investigations focusing on immigration-seekers’ and policymakers’ perceptions on test consequences, while the decisions inference was the least probed stressing immigration-seekers’ attitude towards the impartiality of decision-making. It is recommended that further studies could explore more kinds of stakeholders (e.g., test developers) in terms of their perceptions on the test and investigate more about the fairness of decision-making based on test scores. Additionally, the current AUA framework includes only positive and negative consequences that an assessment may engender but does not take compounded consequences into account. It is suggested that further research could enrich the framework. The paper sheds some light on the field of language assessment for immigration and brings about theoretical, practical, and political implications for different kinds of stakeholders (e.g., researchers, test developers, and policymakers).
format	article
author	Don Yao Matthew P. Wallace
author_facet	Don Yao Matthew P. Wallace
author_sort	Don Yao
title	Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
title_short	Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
title_full	Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
title_fullStr	Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
title_full_unstemmed	Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades
title_sort	language assessment for immigration: a review of validation research over the last two decades
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/68562be945014f69a34ea2a625055f3c
work_keys_str_mv	AT donyao languageassessmentforimmigrationareviewofvalidationresearchoverthelasttwodecades AT matthewpwallace languageassessmentforimmigrationareviewofvalidationresearchoverthelasttwodecades
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Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades

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