Automated language assessment using speech recognition modeling
First Claim
1. A system for measuring an ability of a subject, comprising:
- a first set of task items that require the subject to provide one or more spoken responses;
a speech recognition system coupled to receive the spoken response and to provide an estimate of the spoken response, the speech recognition system having an associated non-random inaccuracy;
a scoring device, the scoring device being operable to convert the estimate into a task item score; and
a computation device, the computation device providing a subject score based on a combination of task item scores using a scoring computation model that depends upon an expected task item-dependent operating characteristic of the speech recognition system, including the associated non-random inaccuracy of the speech recognition system.
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Abstract
A system for measuring an ability of a subject. The system includes a set of tasks that require the subject to provide one or more spoken responses. A speech recognition system, which is coupled to receive the spoken responses, provides an estimate of the spoken responses. The estimate may be an estimate of the linguistic content and/or other characteristics of the response. The speech recognition system has an associated operating characteristic relating to its ability to recognize and estimate the content of responses and elements of responses. A scoring device converts the response estimate into one or more item scores. A computation device provides a subject score using a scoring computation model that depends upon the expected item-dependent operating characteristics of the speech recognition system.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for measuring an ability of a subject, comprising:
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a first set of task items that require the subject to provide one or more spoken responses; a speech recognition system coupled to receive the spoken response and to provide an estimate of the spoken response, the speech recognition system having an associated non-random inaccuracy; a scoring device, the scoring device being operable to convert the estimate into a task item score; and a computation device, the computation device providing a subject score based on a combination of task item scores using a scoring computation model that depends upon an expected task item-dependent operating characteristic of the speech recognition system, including the associated non-random inaccuracy of the speech recognition system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. In a computer-based system that grades spoken responses to a set of task items, wherein the system comprises a speech recognition system, an improved method of grading the spoken responses, the improvement comprising:
determining a subject score for the spoken responses to the set of task items, wherein the subject score accounts for a task item-dependent operating characteristic of the speech recognition system to accurately recognize the spoken responses.
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8. A method for measuring an ability of a subject, comprising:
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providing a set of task items; generating a difficulty value for each task item in the set, the difficulty value being based upon the task item and a performance measurement associated with an automatic device that measures task performance, wherein the performance measurement comprises a measure of a task item-dependent operating characteristic of the automatic device from responses to the set of tasks; obtaining a response to each task item from the subject; and combining the difficulty values and the responses from the subject to form a subject score reflecting at least one of a linguistic ability and a cognitive ability of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for determining a difficulty value of task items in a test, comprising:
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a set of responses to the task items from a number of individuals; an automated grader, wherein the automatic grader receives the set of responses and provides graded responses; and means for reducing the graded responses to a set of task item difficulties, said task item difficulties normalizing the task items by accounting for non-random errors by the automatic grader.
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13. A method for determining a difficulty value of task items in a text, comprising:
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obtaining a set of responses to the task items from a number of individuals; automatically grading the set of responses, thereby generating graded responses; and reducing the graded responses to a set of task item difficulties, said task item difficulties including a measurement of a task item-dependent operating characteristic associated with the act of automatically grading the set of responses for purposes of normalizing the task items to provide an accurate assessment.
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14. A method for measuring an ability of a subject comprising:
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providing a set of task items and a device that automatically measures performance of the task items; determining a difficulty value for each task item, wherein the difficulty value is based upon the task item and upon a performance measure associated with a task item-dependent operating characteristic of an automated device in assessing performance of the task; obtaining verbal responses to the task items from the subject; and combining the verbal responses and the difficulty values to form a subject score reflecting at least one of a linguistic ability and a cognitive ability of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification