National Spanish Exam (2023)

Reliability

NSE recognizes that test reliability is defined as the degree to which the test gives consistent results each time it is given.

In other words, reliability answers the following questions:

  1. Can I depend on the test to measure the same outcomes consistently?
  2. Given all the other variables being the same, will the test produce the same results again?

NSE uses the Kuder-Richardson 21 formula to calculate reliability coefficients:

r (reliability) = (K)(SD2)-M(K-M)⁄(SD2)(K-1)

K = the number of items in the list
SD = the standard deviation of the scores
M = the mean of the scores

The scores of reliability are judged against a perfect score of 1.00. The closer the reliability coefficient is to 1.00, the better it is. The relationship between variables is commonly considered strong over .7. Most standardized tests usually have a reliability coefficient of .90 or above.1

Reliability Coefficients

for the National Spanish Exam (2023)

Population Size Number of Questions (K) Mean Score (M) Standard Deviation (SD) Reliability Coefficient (r)
Level Name Category Name Exam Part
Level 01 Bilingual Reading And Listening 187 30 58.106953 7.783797 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 190 30 30.773684 3.941192 1.000000
Total 192 60 87.046875 14.942699 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 5606 30 48.671959 12.410879 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 5657 30 24.078840 6.574586 0.920744
Total 5668 60 72.171669 18.831066 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 734 30 54.752045 9.664035 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 739 30 26.943167 5.823244 0.950731
Total 739 60 81.324760 15.153703 1.000000
Level 1 Bilingual Reading And Listening 949 30 57.741833 9.443400 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 965 30 29.770985 5.061117 1.000000
Total 966 60 86.465836 14.971968 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 19458 30 48.841660 11.313398 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 19552 30 19.909319 7.099049 0.897022
Total 19802 60 67.651146 18.306417 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 1574 30 55.123890 9.224878 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1581 30 24.519291 6.715256 0.931723
Total 1585 60 79.198738 15.457735 1.000000
Level 2 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1344 30 57.977680 8.096852 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1356 30 29.210176 4.311361 0.991683
Total 1366 60 86.040260 13.489348 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 18743 30 50.556049 11.392146 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 18881 30 18.415020 6.344037 0.851699
Total 18963 60 68.304909 17.063288 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 854 30 56.795082 8.790639 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 862 30 25.611368 6.179339 0.932980
Total 868 60 81.313362 15.343335 1.000000
Level 3 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1408 30 55.813919 8.389542 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1417 30 28.203247 4.272267 0.938747
Total 1420 60 83.485916 12.061717 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 13936 30 50.201851 10.105618 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 14047 30 17.541397 6.654218 0.864290
Total 14109 60 67.050606 16.230085 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 771 30 56.103760 7.315185 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 773 30 24.024580 6.773792 0.926597
Total 775 60 79.776772 13.078146 1.000000
Level 4 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1078 30 56.186455 9.191607 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1090 30 26.977064 4.491830 0.895110
Total 1097 60 82.018234 14.263877 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 7304 30 50.920864 11.522148 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 7396 30 17.650757 6.821895 0.872974
Total 7423 60 67.691093 17.994822 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 473 30 56.653278 8.025743 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 475 30 23.943157 5.912960 0.891455
Total 476 60 80.189079 12.980996 1.000000
Level 5 Bilingual Reading And Listening 557 30 51.220825 8.778731 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 572 30 23.809441 5.886489 0.887804
Total 573 60 73.558464 15.239983 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 2400 30 47.082916 11.305723 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 2413 30 17.914215 6.335660 0.848492
Total 2424 60 64.449669 16.969128 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 226 30 52.389381 8.224111 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 225 30 21.057777 5.920304 0.849227
Total 227 60 73.030838 12.658648 1.000000
Level 6 Bilingual Reading And Listening 114 30 52.482456 9.106805 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 114 30 25.017544 5.226422 0.877128
Total 116 30 76.163795 14.071826 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 227 30 51.352425 9.298242 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 226 30 19.190266 5.612414 0.807392
Total 229 60 69.842796 14.322295 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 32 30 53.093750 8.486605 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 31 30 21.935484 5.073241 0.797478
Total 32 60 74.343750 12.100127 1.000000

1John A. Kaufhold, Basic Statistics for Educational Research (New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2007) pp. 43-46.