Using Quality Management Systems to improve test development and standards and to promote good practice: A case study of testing Italian as a foreign language

Abstract

AbstractThis article discusses the problem of quality in the production of language tests in the context of Italian language examinations. The concept of quality is closely related to the application of stated standards and related procedures. These standards, developed over the last thirty years, are mainly related to the concepts of the accountability and responsibility of organisations and testing bodies. In this context and for these purposes, a quality management system (QMS) could be a useful tool for the setting out of procedures and the consistent application of standards to the different phases in the production of language examinations, thereby supporting and providing evidence of the valid interpretation and use of test results (Messick 1989). Taking into account the development of standards in educational assessment (Saville 2014), the article starts with a brief exploration of the terms