Rebecca J. Kopriva is a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin, and former testing director and consultant with states and USED. She has published more than 40 journal articles, chapters and books, and has presented widely on her work associated with testing for English language learners. Among her publications is Ensuring Accuracy in Testing for English Language Learners (2000).
More than any book to date, this one provides a comprehensive approach to designing, building, implementing and interpreting test results that validly measure the academic achievement of English language learners. It scaffolds the entire process of test development and implementation and discusses essential intervention points. The book provides the type of evidence-based guidance called for in federal mandates such as the NCLB legislation. Key features of this important new book include the following...
Comprehensive – This book recommends methods for properly including ELLs throughout the entire test development process, addressing all essential steps from planning, item writing and reviews to analyses and reporting.
Breadth and Depth of Coverage– Coverage includes discussion of the key issues, explanations and detailed instructions at each intervention point.
Research Focus – All chapters include an extensive review of current research.
Emerging Trends – The chapters summarize guidance appropriate for innovative computer-based assessments of the future as well as the paper-and-pencil tests of today.
This book is appropriate for anyone concerned with the development and implementation of fair and accurate testing programs for English language learners. This includes university based researchers, testing personel at the federal, state and local levels, teachers interested in better assessing their diverse student populations and those involved in the testing industry. It is also appropriate for instructors teaching undergraduate and graduate courses devoted to testing the full range of students in todays schools.
Chapter 1: Purpose and Overview
Chapter 2: Changing Demographics in a Testing Culture: Why This Issue Matters
I. Demographics and School Policy
II. ELLs: A Heterogeneous Population
III. The Educational Assessment of English Language Learners
Chapter 3. The Past as Preparation: Measurement, Public Policy and Implications for Access
I. A Brief History of Large Scale Achievement Testing
II. Development of Measurement Theory Models
A. Reliability to Multidimensional Item Response Theory
B. A Changing view of Test Validity
III. 50 years of Federal Policy Regarding Equity and the Use of Achievement Testing
A. ESEA: Full Inclusion, Disaggregated Reporting, and Beyond
B. Other Federal Influences
IV. Building Assessments to be More Accessible for ELLs
A. Conceptual Underpinnings
B. Developing Accessible Tests
C. Estimating Levels of Access
Chapter 4. Getting Started: Issues of Participation, Alignment, and Validating Access with Test Specifications
I. Participation in Test Development
A. Expert Participation in Test Development
B. Student Participation in Small Sample Pilots and Large Sample Field Tests
II. Test Specifications and Content Validity
A. Components of Test Specifications
B. Documenting Content Validity for English Language Learners: The Access Specifications Package
III. Alignment Considerations
A. Overview
B. Alignment and English Language Learners
Chapter 5. Providing the Foundation of Principled Test Construction: Maintaining the Integrity of the Item Targets
I. Overview
A. Overview of Access-Based Materials Development
B. Overview of Item Development
II. The Centrality of Item Targets: Clearly Defining Intended Knowledge and Skills
A. Development and Completion of Access-Based Item Templates
III. Writing Access-Based Items: An Overview
Chapter 6. Access-Based Item Development
I. Contextual Factors
A. Culturally broad experiences
B. Making Expectations Clear and Explicit
C. Prior Learning Expectations
II. Structural Factors
A. Simple Language Structures
B. Vocabulary
C. Effective Visuals
D. Item Format
E. Text Amount
F. Tools
G. Impact of Home Language
H. A Note about Rubrics
Chapter 7. Tools, Test Forms, and Reviews
I. Tools
A. Text Supports
B. Manipulatives
C. Content-Based Resources
D. Activities
II. Form Considerations
- Choosing Items
B. Plain Language Forms
C. Computer-Based Testing
D. L1 Form Considerations
E. Widening Item and Testing Method Capabilities
III. Reviews
A. Internal Reviews
B. Fairness Reviews
IV. Putting It All Together
Chapter 8: In What Language Should English Language Learners Be Tested?
I. Defining ELLs
A. Variation Among ELLs
1. Relative language proficiency
2. Variation across language modes
3. Minimum bilingual development
4. Language dominance
5. Dialect variation
B. Patterns of Language Proficiency
C. Additional Sources of Linguistic Differences
D. Limitations of Official Definitions of "ELL"
II. Classifying ELLs
A. Schooling Background
B. Defining and Assessing Language Proficiency
C. Literacy and Academic Language as Part of Language Proficiency
D. Modern Views of Language Proficiency: Communicative Competence
E. Limitations of Mandated English Language Development Tests
III. Testing ELLs
A. Limitations of Testing ELLs in English
B. Limitations of Testing ELLs in L1
C. Major Challenges in the Selection of Language for Testing ELLs
IV. Future Directions
A. Local Specificity of Testing Models
B. Optimum Number of Items as Testing Accommodation
Chapter 9: Other Relevant Accommodations and Pretest Support
I. Promising Administration Accommodations
A. Extra Time
B. Small Group
C. Oral Administration
D. Language Liaison
II. Promising Response Accommodations
A. Written Home Language or Code-Switching
B. Oral in English, the Home Language, or Code-Switching
C. Demonstrated or Modeled Response
III. Pretest Support
A. Classroom Support
B. Family Assessment Night
Chapter 10. Proper Assignment of Accommodations to Individual Students
I. Key Assignment Considerations
A. Student Factors
B. Accommodations
C. Capacity
II. Defining the Task
A. Policy-Based Approaches
B. Research Based Approaches
III. Operational and Prototypical Systems
A. Guidance Models
B. Research-Based Standardized Data Collection and Assignment Systems
IV. Implications
Chapter 11. Scoring Considerations for English Language Learners
I. Issues Which Impact Scoring
A. Linguistic Considerations Influenced by the Home Language
B. Cultural Considerations
C. Language Acquisition Issues
II. Access-Based Scoring
A. Scoring Process Considerations
Chapter 12. Selected Technical Considerations
I. Validity
- Developing an Interpretable Research Agenda
B. Selected Quantitative Approaches
C. Qualitative Approaches
II. Comparability Considerations
A. Defining Comparability
B. Analyzing Construct Equivalence
C. Analyzing Score Equivalence
1: Purpose and Overview; 2: Changing Demographics in a Testing Culture: Why This Issue Matters; 3: The Past as Preparation: Measurement, Public Policy and Implications for Access; 4: Getting Started: Issues of Participation, Alignment, and Validating Access with Test Specifications; 5: Providing the Foundation of Principled Test Construction: Maintaining the Integrity of the Item Targets 1; 6: Access-based Item Development; 7: Tools, Test Forms, and Reviews; 8: In What Language Should English Language Learners be Tested?; 9: Other Relevant Accommodations and Pretest Support; 10: Proper Assignment of Accommodations to Individual Students; 11: Scoring Considerations for English Language Learners; 12: Selected Technical Considerations
"This is an important text for those interested in second and foreign language testing and assessment, even though the title emphasizes "English Language Learners." There is much to garner here to improve language test items for all language learners....[Kopriva´s] text encourages language professionals to participate in test and assessment development with insights, ideas (both procedural and empirical), and debate for the twenty-first century."-- Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 42.2 (Fall 2009)
Über den Autor
Rebecca J. Kopriva is a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin, and former testing director and consultant with states and USED. She has published more than 40 journal articles, chapters and books, and has presented widely on her work associated with testing for English language learners. Among her publications is Ensuring Accuracy in Testing for English Language Learners (2000).
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1: Purpose and Overview; 2: Changing Demographics in a Testing Culture: Why This Issue Matters; 3: The Past as Preparation: Measurement, Public Policy and Implications for Access; 4: Getting Started: Issues of Participation, Alignment, and Validating Access with Test Specifications; 5: Providing the Foundation of Principled Test Construction: Maintaining the Integrity of the Item Targets 1; 6: Access-based Item Development; 7: Tools, Test Forms, and Reviews; 8: In What Language Should English Language Learners be Tested?; 9: Other Relevant Accommodations and Pretest Support; 10: Proper Assignment of Accommodations to Individual Students; 11: Scoring Considerations for English Language Learners; 12: Selected Technical Considerations
Klappentext
More than any book to date, this one provides a comprehensive approach to designing, building, implementing and interpreting test results that validly measure the academic achievement of English language learners. It scaffolds the entire process of test development and implementation and discusses essential intervention points. The book provides the type of evidence-based guidance called for in federal mandates such as the NCLB legislation. Key features of this important new book include the following¿
Comprehensive ¿ This book recommends methods for properly including ELLs throughout the entire test development process, addressing all essential steps from planning, item writing and reviews to analyses and reporting.
Breadth and Depth of Coverage¿ Coverage includes discussion of the key issues, explanations and detailed instructions at each intervention point.
Research Focus ¿ All chapters include an extensive review of current research.
Emerging Trends ¿ The chapters summarize guidance appropriate for innovative computer-based assessments of the future as well as the paper-and-pencil tests of today.
This book is appropriate for anyone concerned with the development and implementation of fair and accurate testing programs for English language learners. This includes university based researchers, testing personel at the federal, state and local levels, teachers interested in better assessing their diverse student populations and those involved in the testing industry. It is also appropriate for instructors teaching undergraduate and graduate courses devoted to testing the full range of students in todays schools.
