Fairness and Validation in Language Assessment

This collection features papers from the 19th Language Testing Research Colloquium, exploring the crucial themes of fairness, validation, and ethical practices in language assessment, highlighting concerns in test standards and bias.

Fairness and Validation in Language Assessment presents a comprehensive collection of papers from the 19th Language Testing Research Colloquium, which took place in 1997 in Orlando, Florida. This volume addresses the critical theme of fairness in language testing, a topic that has long been a concern for both test developers and users. Over the past decade, researchers in educational and language assessment have increasingly concentrated on issues related to fairness, including test standards, bias, equity, and the ethical responsibilities of testing professionals.

The conference aimed to deepen the understanding of fairness in language assessment by exploring its definition and scope. Presentations and discussions during the colloquium sought to connect the concept of fairness with the validation of test score interpretations. By examining various perspectives, the contributors to this volume highlight the complexities surrounding fairness and its implications for language assessment practices.

This collection serves as an introductory resource for those interested in the interplay between fairness and validation in language testing. The papers included offer valuable insights and frameworks that can aid in the development of more equitable assessment practices. Overall, Fairness and Validation in Language Assessment is a significant contribution to the ongoing discourse in the field, encouraging further exploration and dialogue on these essential topics.