We address the concern that classification of English learners (ELs) primarily based on standardized tests does not accurately reflect what students know and can do with English. While qualitative classroom discourse analyses show that ELs' language-in-use is not as limited as test scores indicate, available evidence is sparse and prone to…

We examined semiotic exchangeability in pop-up glossary translations and illustrations used as supports for second language learners (SLLs) in computer-administered mathematics tests. In a sample of 516 mathematics items, Grades 3-8 and 11, from a large-scale assessment program in the US, test developers identified terms that could be translated…

We investigated language variation and score variation in the testing of English language learners, native Spanish speakers. We gave students the same set of National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics items in both their first language and their second language. We examined the amount of score variation due to the main and interaction…

We addressed the challenge of scoring cognitive interviews in research involving multiple cultural groups. We interviewed 123 fourth- and fifth-grade students from three cultural groups to probe how they related a mathematics item to their personal lives. Item meaningfulness--the tendency of students to relate the content and/or context of an item…

Studied the ability of logical test design (LTD) to predict student performance in reading Roman numerals for 211 sixth graders in Mexico City tested on Roman numeral items varying on LTD-related and non-LTD-related variables. The LTD-related variable item iterativity was found to be the best predictor of item difficulty. (SLD)

This sampler of student responses to mathematics and science items was assembled to show how student responses differ depending on whether students are tested in English or in their native languages. The sampler aims to promote awareness among teachers and assessment developers that low language proficiency in English is a factor that can penalize…

In a project on the development of performance assessments in science, researchers have developed four types of assessment: comparative, component identification, classification, and observation. They have noted that assessments belonging to the same type of task can be scored for the same performance properties. This paper reports on the…