Promoting Validity in the Assessment of English Learners

Sireci, Stephen G.; Faulkner-Bond, Molly

doi:10.3102/0091732x14557003

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Regardless of the potential for revising current guidelines for the selection and interpretation of cognitive tests when assessing CLD students, the results of this study can also potentially inform test development. Sireci and Faulkner-Bond (2015) discussed the use of simplified language as an appropriate accommodation to ensure the valid assessment of linguistic minorities. They noted, however, that simplified language would not be a necessary accommodation, if standard item writing guidelines were followed, which include limiting verbosity and reducing overall language load for the examinee.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Examination of the Linguistic Demand of Cognitive Test Directions Administered to School-Age Populations

Cormier

Bulut

Singh

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

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The selection and interpretation of individually administered norm-referenced cognitive tests that are administered to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students continue to be an important consideration within the psychoeducational assessment process. Understanding test directions during the assessment of cognitive abilities is important, considering the high-stakes nature of these assessments. Therefore, the linguistic demand of spoken test directions from the following commonly used cognitive test batteries was examined and compared: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V), Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ IV COG), Cognitive Assessment System, Second Edition (CAS2), and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II). On average, the linguistic demand of the standard test directions was greater than the linguistic demand of the supplementary test directions. When examining individual test characteristics, very few individual tests were identified as outliers with respect to the linguistic demand of their test directions. This finding differs from previous research and suggests that the linguistic demand of the required directions for most tests included in commonly used cognitive batteries is similar. Implications for future research and test development are discussed. Keywords linguistic demand, test directions, cognitive abilities, assessment The number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students has been increasing rapidly in the United States and Canada (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Examination of the Linguistic Demand of Cognitive Test Directions Administered to School-Age Populations

Cormier

Bulut

Singh

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

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“…The effectiveness of mother-tongue instruction has been reported consistently by various researchers (Banda, 2000; Brock-Utne, 2013, 2015; Sireci and Faulkner-Bond, 2015) and it is not the aim of this article to advance an argument in favour of implementing an immersion-type model of instruction. Rather, it wishes to offer a glimpse of an environment in which L2 students display very little proficiency in English and in which teachers have not been exposed to specialised training in sophisticated instructional language teaching methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Trial and Error? An Inquiry into Implementing a ‘Straight-for-English’ Approach with Foundation Phase Students with Inadequate English Proficiency

Badenhorst

Merwe

2016

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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The language of instruction in South Africa is currently an extremely controversial issue. As a result of South Africa's political history, English is almost always chosen as the language of instruction. However, in many cases, students have not been adequately exposed to English when they enter the Foundation Phase. This study reports on research conducted at an Ex-Model C (formerly privileged) primary school in South Africa where an immersion-type model is followed with English as the instructional language. The aim of the study was to explore the practices implemented by Foundation Phase teachers to teach students through the medium of English, and to ascertain how the school has managed to maintain a consistently high academic standard, despite the language difficulties of their students. The findings of the study can make a significant contribution when similar strategies are implemented in schools which are faced by challenges similar to those of the sample school.

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“…In addition, the assessment community has expressed concern that ELs' scores on high-stakes science tests include construct-irrelevant variance (Abedi, 2006;Solano-Flores, 2008). Constructirrelevant variance is systematic variance that arises when an assessment actually measures something other than the construct the test is intended Linguistic Simplification for English Learners to measure (American Educational Research Association [AERA] et al, 2014;Haladyna & Downing, 2004;Sireci & Faulkner-Bond, 2015). The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing state that in cases when EL students are given a test written in English, [i]f the test is not intended to also be a measure of the ability to read in English, then test scores do not represent the same construct(s) for examinees who may have poor reading skills, such as limited English proficient test takers, as they do for those who are fully proficient in reading English.…”

Section: Construct-irrelevant Variance and Assessment Of Elsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We recognize the limitations of classifying students as ELs, which include (1) the lack of acknowledgment of students’ emerging multilingual status (Hopewell & Escamilla, 2014; Ojeda, 2016); (2) the diversity of the backgrounds, languages, language proficiencies, and life experiences that can be masked by grouping students together under the category ELs; and (3) the variations in and limitations of the criteria, including testing practices, used to classify students as ELs (Linquanti & Cook, 2013; Sireci & Faulkner-Bond, 2015; Proctor & Silverman, 2011). We nonetheless recognize that the category ELs identifies for schools, school districts, and states, a group of students who have historically not received adequate attention from the research, assessment, and policy communities, and for this reason, we use the category name, while acknowledging its limitations.…”

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confidence: 99%

Targeted Linguistic Simplification of Science Test Items for English Learners

Noble¹,

Sireci²,

Wells

et al. 2020

American Educational Research Journal

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In this experimental study, 20 multiple-choice test items from the Massachusetts Grade 5 science test were linguistically simplified, and original and simplified test items were administered to 310 English learners (ELs) and 1,580 non-ELs in four Massachusetts school districts. This study tested the hypothesis that specific linguistic features of test items contributed to construct-irrelevant variance in science test scores of ELs. Simplifications targeted specific linguistic features, to identify those features with the largest impacts on ELs’ test performance. Of all the linguistic simplifications used in this study, adding visual representations to answer choices had the largest positive effect on ELs’ performance. These findings have significant implications for the design of multiple-choice test items that are fair and valid for ELs.

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Promoting Validity in the Assessment of English Learners

Cited by 32 publications

References 56 publications

A Systematic Examination of the Linguistic Demand of Cognitive Test Directions Administered to School-Age Populations

A Systematic Examination of the Linguistic Demand of Cognitive Test Directions Administered to School-Age Populations

Trial and Error? An Inquiry into Implementing a ‘Straight-for-English’ Approach with Foundation Phase Students with Inadequate English Proficiency

Targeted Linguistic Simplification of Science Test Items for English Learners

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