Reliability refers to the extent to which assessment scores remain consistent over repeated
administrations of the same form or alternate forms. Reliability also refers to the extent to which the
assessment results are free from the effects of random variation caused by factors that may or may
not be directly related to the purpose of the test (e.g., the kind of test given, the time of administration,
test-takers’ conditions or the scorers). There are different methods for calculating the reliability estimate
for test scores. The reliability estimation for the TOEIC Listening and Reading test is based on an
internal consistency method, and the reliability coefficient is called alpha. This calculated coefficient
provides an indication of the consistency of test-taker responses to all of the items in each section.
As seen in Table 3, the alphas estimated for the Redesigned TOEIC Listening and Reading test are
as high as those for the Classic TOEIC Listening and Reading test. Overall, the reliability estimates for
the Redesigned TOEIC Listening and Reading test are slightly higher than those for the Classic TOEIC
Listening and Reading test.