ABSTRACT
Test users and researchers alike see test publishers as responsible for providing defensible and clear interpretations of test scores and encouraging their appropriate use. Accordingly, the TOEFL® revision was intended to result in test scores whose interpretation was transparent to test users and supported by “an overall evaluative judgment of the degree to which evidence and theoretical rationales support the adequacy and appropriateness” of their interpretation and use ( Messick, 1989, p. 13). Attempting to develop theoretical rationales, designers of the new TOEFL began by exploring how theories of language Proficiency would serve as a basis for test design. This chapter summarizes issues that arose during this process, explains how the test designers shifted focus to the validity argument that justifies score interpretation and use to resolve these issues, and outlines the interpretive argument that underlies the TOEFL validity argument.
