National Spanish Exam (2025)

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 (2025)

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 159.0 28.0 54.062893 7.663263 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 160.0 38.0 35.637500 4.365329 0.907616
Total 160.0 66.0 89.362500 11.888801 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 6385.0 28.0 44.771496 10.515094 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 6422.0 38.0 29.970570 7.199167 0.901536
Total 6450.0 66.0 74.160775 17.396241 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 431.0 28.0 51.570766 8.236582 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 434.0 38.0 33.744240 6.672837 0.939860
Total 434.0 66.0 84.958525 14.592408 1.000000
Level 1 Bilingual Reading And Listening 751.0 28.0 50.121172 10.131491 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 755.0 38.0 33.841060 6.865879 0.946335
Total 760.0 66.0 83.146053 16.862555 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 18915.0 28.0 43.507375 10.538209 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 19058.0 38.0 25.301658 8.123686 0.895448
Total 19177.0 66.0 68.057621 18.501684 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 1002.0 28.0 49.049900 8.495479 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1019.0 38.0 30.547596 7.008648 0.901770
Total 1023.0 66.0 78.471163 16.437413 1.000000
Level 2 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1201.0 28.0 47.495420 8.504993 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1206.0 38.0 30.678275 5.720057 0.841485
Total 1220.0 66.0 77.081967 14.337438 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 19386.0 28.0 39.374497 10.061985 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 19553.0 38.0 20.250703 6.848557 0.819907
Total 19682.0 66.0 58.900315 16.269721 0.991080
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 936.0 28.0 45.191239 9.079938 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 932.0 38.0 25.709227 7.223605 0.863361
Total 943.0 66.0 70.265111 15.135084 1.000000
Level 3 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1333.0 28.0 47.107277 8.933263 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1338.0 38.0 32.696562 5.128892 0.848867
Total 1346.0 66.0 79.154532 13.164517 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 14923.0 28.0 41.971923 10.163098 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 15017.0 38.0 22.711793 6.814745 0.824955
Total 15085.0 66.0 64.130593 16.228466 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 867.0 28.0 46.106113 9.642289 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 867.0 38.0 27.838524 7.067918 0.873982
Total 875.0 66.0 73.268571 15.670824 1.000000
Level 4 Bilingual Reading And Listening 1187.0 28.0 48.363100 8.105793 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 1192.0 38.0 31.772651 5.242235 0.832436
Total 1198.0 66.0 79.532554 12.466256 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 8800.0 28.0 43.506477 9.925379 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 8833.0 38.0 23.249632 7.203221 0.848393
Total 8896.0 66.0 66.121965 16.526095 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 642.0 28.0 47.303738 8.818680 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 650.0 38.0 28.110769 6.269588 0.835885
Total 655.0 66.0 74.261069 14.755946 1.000000
Level 5 Bilingual Reading And Listening 748.0 28.0 48.140374 8.060953 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 750.0 38.0 29.764000 5.339567 0.794650
Total 756.0 66.0 77.158730 12.877473 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 2860.0 28.0 45.563986 9.833177 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 2909.0 38.0 26.353386 6.398713 0.824423
Total 2923.0 66.0 70.809100 16.637545 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 311.0 28.0 48.141479 8.579827 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 313.0 38.0 28.904153 6.021560 0.831060
Total 314.0 66.0 76.493631 13.141378 1.000000
Level 6 Bilingual Reading And Listening 188.0 28.0 46.920213 8.455076 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 187.0 38.0 29.224599 5.410708 0.790268
Total 190.0 66.0 75.189474 13.871436 1.000000
Classroom Experience Reading And Listening 274.0 28.0 46.510949 8.937428 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 274.0 38.0 24.076642 6.676954 0.823800
Total 276.0 66.0 70.076087 15.169024 1.000000
Outside Experience Reading And Listening 37.0 28.0 49.756757 8.061941 1.000000
Vocabulary And Grammar 36.0 38.0 29.111111 6.003600 0.832992
Total 37.0 66.0 78.081081 13.119777 1.000000

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