Setting Standards for English Foreign Language Assessment: Methodology,Validation, and a Degree of Arbitrariness

Cut‐scores were set by expert judges on assessments of reading and listening comprehension of English as a foreign language (EFL), using the bookmark standard‐setting method to differentiate proficiency levels defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Assessments contained stratified item samples drawn from extensive item pools, calibrated using Rasch models on the basis of examinee responses of a German nationwide assessment of secondary school language performance. The results suggest significant effects of item sampling strategies for the bookmark method on cut‐score recommendations, as well as significant cut‐score judgment revision over cut‐score placement rounds. Results are discussed within a framework of establishing validity evidence supporting cut‐score recommendations using the widely employed bookmark method.