[lg policy] New WestEd report--Accommodations for English Language Learner Students: The Effect of Linguistic Modification of Math Test Item Sets

[Harold Schiffman]

 ForwardedFrom: Russell Rumberger <russ at education.ucsb.edu>
Date: Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:06 PM
New WestEd report--Accommodations for English Language Learner Students: The
Effect of Linguistic Modification of Math Test Item Sets
To: edresearch at lists.isber.ucsb.edu



   EdResearch
UC Santa Barbara    Accommodations for English Language Learner Students:
The Effect of Linguistic Modification of Math Test Item Sets
By *Edynn Sato, Stanley N. Rabinowitz, Carole Gallagher, Chun-Wei Huang*

This study, prepared by Regional Educational Laboratory
West<http://relwest.wested.org/>at WestEd, found that simplifying the
language—or linguistic modification—on
standardized math test items made it easier for English language learners to
focus on and grasp math concepts, and thus was a more accurate assessment of
their math skills.

The results contribute to the body of knowledge informing assessment
practices and accommodations appropriate for English language learner
students.

The study examined students' performance on two sets of math items—both the
originally worded items and those that had been modified. Researchers
analyzed results from three subgroups of students—English learner (EL),
non-English language arts proficient (NEP), and English language arts
proficient (EP) students.

Key results include:

   - Linguistically modifying the language of mathematics test items did not
   change the math knowledge being assessed.
   - The effect of linguistic modification on students' math performance
   varied between the three student subgroups. The results also varied
   depending on how scores were calculated for each student.
   - For each of the four scoring approaches analyzed, the effect of
   linguistic modification was greatest for EL students, followed by NEP and EP
   students.

Information about the regional educational laboratory (REL) system and other
REL publications can be found at the National Regional Educational
Laboratory Program <http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/> website.



More>> <http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/1033>





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linguistic, ethnic, and racial minorities and immigrants.



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