"Tests, by their very nature, can provide only a limited range of interactive contexts.
Designing an evaluative mechanism which would assess all competencies (discourse,
grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic) in all settings (from very formal to very
informal) and on all contents (factual, hypothetical, and abstract) is a virtual impossibility"
(Yoffe, 1997, p. 10).
What Yoffe is describing here is the complexity of human interaction. It follows that
attempting to test this phenomenon will always remain problematic. He goes on to suggest the
possibility of evaluating OPI test scores against assessments in other contexts: "In defense of
the OPI, it is perhaps necessary to look at the high positive correlation between the OPI ratings
and subsequent measurements of success on job assignments." (Yoffe, 1997, p. 10).
In essence, if there is a high correlation between the aforementioned variables, we could place more
confidence in OPIs in general, but with guarded optimism: "How does one measure 'success on
job assignments' ?" and "What is the nature of the correlation?" would be a few of the
questions that would require compromise and debate... not to mention the cost in terms of
money, time and energy, which certainly raises the specter of practicality.
Designing an evaluative mechanism which would assess all competencies (discourse,
grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic) in all settings (from very formal to very
informal) and on all contents (factual, hypothetical, and abstract) is a virtual impossibility"
(Yoffe, 1997, p. 10).
What Yoffe is describing here is the complexity of human interaction. It follows that
attempting to test this phenomenon will always remain problematic. He goes on to suggest the
possibility of evaluating OPI test scores against assessments in other contexts: "In defense of
the OPI, it is perhaps necessary to look at the high positive correlation between the OPI ratings
and subsequent measurements of success on job assignments." (Yoffe, 1997, p. 10).
In essence, if there is a high correlation between the aforementioned variables, we could place more
confidence in OPIs in general, but with guarded optimism: "How does one measure 'success on
job assignments' ?" and "What is the nature of the correlation?" would be a few of the
questions that would require compromise and debate... not to mention the cost in terms of
money, time and energy, which certainly raises the specter of practicality.