The Role of Language and Culture in Fifth-Grade Science High-Stakes Large-Scale Assessments

• In Event: 66.052 - Language Policy, Accountability, and English Language Learner Students

Abstract

This is a study on the implications for accountability and fairness related to English Language Learners (ELL) taking the 2009 Texas Assessment for Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Item and construct bias analyses were conducted quantitative and qualitatively to study possible differences in test scores between students from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, depending on whether they answered the English or Spanish version of the TAKS. Our results on Mantel-Haenszel procedures detected biased items for all pair-wise group comparisons. These results call for a reinterpretation of the achievement gap observed in TAKS scores between populations and highlight the need for further development of guidelines for more valid large-scale test construction in science for fair assessment of all students.

Authors

• Cynthia Esperanza Lima, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Guadalupe Carmona, The University of Texas at San Antonio