Construct in Assessments of Spoken Language

Abstract

Language assessment constructs conjoin two complex, dynamic phenomena: collective patterns of language use and individual language ability. Assessment constructs emerge from “spheres of activity” across multiple, overlapping dimensions, denoted in this chapter as theoretical, operationalized, stated, and perceived constructs. While theoretical constructs are assumptions about what causes differences in scores, the operationalized construct is what actually emerges in the interaction between the assessee and the assessment infrastructure. Stated constructs are descriptions of what the assessment claims to assess, and perceived constructs are the ways these statements are interpreted. Interrogating the congruence of these dimensions has the potential to provide a holistic view of the development, experience, use, and impact of assessment constructs across diverse stakeholder worlds.