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Assessing vocabulary size through multiple-choice formats: issues with guessing and sampling rates

Gyllstad, Henrik; Vilkait?, Laura; Schmitt, Norbert

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Authors

Henrik Gyllstad

Laura Vilkait?

Norbert Schmitt



Abstract

In most tests of vocabulary size, knowledge is assessed through multiple-choice formats. Despite advantages such as ease of scoring, multiple-choice tests (MCT) are accompanied with problems. One of the more central issues has to do with guessing and the presence of other construct-irrelevant strategies that can lead to overestimation of scores. A further challenge when designing vocabulary size tests is that of sampling rate. How many words constitute a representative sample of the underlying population of words that the test is intended to measure? This paper addresses these two issues through a case study based on data from a recent and increasingly used MCT of vocabulary size: the Vocabulary Size Test. Using a criterion-related validity approach, our results show that for multiple-choice items sampled from this test, there is a discrepancy between the test scores and the scores obtained from the criterion measure, and that a higher sampling rate would be needed in order to better represent knowledge of the underlying population of words. We offer two main interpretations of these results, and discuss their implications for the construction and use of vocabulary size tests.

Citation

Gyllstad, H., Vilkaitė, L., & Schmitt, N. (2015). Assessing vocabulary size through multiple-choice formats: issues with guessing and sampling rates. ITL, 166(2), https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.166.2.04gyl

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2015
Deposit Date Mar 14, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 14, 2016
Journal ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Print ISSN 0019-0829
Electronic ISSN 1783-1490
Publisher John Benjamins Publishing
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 166
Issue 2
DOI https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.166.2.04gyl
Keywords Vocabulary Size, Multiple-Choice Test, Guessing, Sampling Rate, Assessment, Validation, Testing, Criterion-Related Validity
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/988357
Publisher URL http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/itl.166.2.04gyl
Additional Information c. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Published: Gyllstad, Henrik and Vilkaite, Laura and Schmitt, Norbert. Assessing vocabulary size through multiple-choice formats: issues with guessing and sampling rates in ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 166.2 (1995): 278-306.

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