Evaluating a placement test

The nature and validation of placement tests is rarely discussed in the language testing literature, yet placement tests are probably one of the commonest forms of tests used within institutions which are not designed by individual teachers and which are used to make decisions across the institution rather than within individual classes. Questions to be asked in the validation and evaluation of any placement test include the following: Does the placement test correctly identify those students who most need English and study skills classes? Do the students who take the test feel that their language has been accurately measured? Is the content of the test appro priate to the uses made of the tests? Is the test reliable? This paper reports on an attempt to validate an institutional placement test at Lancaster University. After presenting the results of the study, the paper comments both on the validity and reliability of the test, and on the wider issues that influence how validation studies of placement tests can be carried out.