The Password English language tests have been designed by the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) at the University of Bedfordshire. Since its inception, CRELLA, directed by Professor Cyril Weir, has established an international reputation as a centre for development of and research into English language testing. Members of the centre have published widely on language testing and assessment issues and carry out pioneering research into the nature of English language proficiency and its measurement.
The Password approach involves a commitment to quality and innovation in test design, administration and validation. This approach is:
- Based on current understandings of language use.
- Supported by a programme of empirical validation.
- Grounded in test security considerations.
Question writers for Password tests are DELTA qualified English language teachers and each individual question is subject to scrutiny by the CRELLA team both before and after being trialled. All questions are trialled with at least 250 learners from the intended target population of test-takers. Once accepted for inclusion in a test, each question is kept under review and periodically replaced or rested.
Password tests are set apart from other tests used for similar purposes by their commitment to continuous refreshment and validation. There are regular reports on the performance of the test material, and systems established for the routine monitoring of differential item functioning and related issues of test bias.
Password has been benchmarked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages on the basis of test design procedures, standards setting exercises and empirical test data.
For information about the alignment of Password to the CEFR, please click on the document below.
Document: CEFR Alignment of Password August 2012 (1617 kb)