Development and Evaluation of Computer Based "Adaptive Tests for Language Abilities in Japanese"

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The objective of this research was to develop computer-based adaptive tests for language abilities for Japanese children. There were four subtests : vocabulary, kanji knowledge, grammar and discourse cmprehension, and pragmatic knowledge. As for the vocabulary test, we made two versions of tests for preschoolers, three for lower grade of elementary school, three for upper grade, and two versions for junior high school students. Based on the results of more than 2700 children, parameters of difficulty and discrimination were estimated. Totally 270 items were chosen after eliminating inappropriate items. In the case of Kanji test, we chose different levels of Kanji letters from the list of Kyoiku Kanji and Joyo Kanji. Based on the selected Kanji letters, we made a Kanji test which is composed of 160 items after eliminating inappropriate items from the results of about 2300 students. Both vocabulary and kanji tests working on the Windows system was developed.Grammar and discourse tests we … More re composed of seven subtests : case particles, verbs such as give and take, auxiliary verbs, contextual meanings of emotion and contract, adverbs, deixis, and conjunctions and conjunctive particles. After elementary school children from first to third grades, each of which were about one hundred students, responded the tests, parameters of difficulty and discrimination in each item were estimated.The interpretation of equivocal expressions in elementary school children was investigated to constitute the tasks of pragmatics. There were twelve subtypes : range of negation, local addition of new information, indirect expression, irony, intention, idiom, metaphor, pun, riddle, homophone, and demonstrative. Factor analysis based on the fifty items of these subtypes was conducted based on the data of elementary school children from the second to sixth, each of which were there about 140 children. Two factors, named "understanding idioms and metaphors," and "using of contextual information," were extracted. Less