Technical Foundations Flashcards
7 cards from real ABLE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Technical Foundations flashcards as text
Which format best measures a test-taker's ability to comprehend implied meaning and draw inferences from a text?
Answer: Open-ended inference questions
Open-ended inference questions require examinees to read between the lines and synthesize ideas, directly measuring higher-order reading comprehension.
When a test's cut score is set too low, which type of classification error increases?
Answer: False positives (false alarms)
A cut score that is too low will classify more examinees as passing who should not, increasing false positives (passing unqualified candidates).
What does 'construct underrepresentation' mean in language assessment?
Answer: The test fails to cover important aspects of the target construct
Construct underrepresentation occurs when a test does not include enough tasks or content to fully represent the target language ability being measured.
Which approach to setting cut scores asks a panel of experts to estimate the probability that a minimally competent examinee answers each item correctly?
Answer: Angoff method
The Angoff method asks panelists to judge each item's difficulty for a hypothetical minimally competent examinee, and the sum of these probabilities becomes the recommended cut score.
A speaking test that uses a recorded prompt and captures an examinee's audio response without a human interviewer is called a(n):
Answer: Semi-direct test
Semi-direct speaking tests use recorded or computer-delivered prompts and capture responses without live human interaction, allowing standardized, scalable administration.
Which psychometric concept refers to the consistency of scores across different groups of examinees when the test is measuring the same construct?
Answer: Measurement invariance
Measurement invariance ensures that the test measures the same underlying construct equally well across different subgroups such as language backgrounds or age groups.
In IRT, test information function (TIF) is HIGHEST at ability levels where:
Answer: Items are maximally discriminating for that ability range
The TIF peaks at ability levels where the test items are most discriminating, meaning the test provides the most precise measurement at those points on the ability continuum.