Role of the Research Partner in the EVEA Project: The State of Washington Alison L. Bailey, UCLA CCSSO, NCSA, Detroit, June 22, 2010.

Role of the Research Partner in the EVEA Project:

The State of Washington

Alison L. Bailey, UCLA

CCSSO, NCSA,Detroit, June 22, 2010

Outline

• Highlight the role of the research partnerships

• Chronology of activities as a Research Partner (RP) with the State of Washington

• Example deliverables and products

• Reflections/lessons learned

EVEA Project Goals

Addressing the validity of English LanguageProficiency Assessments (ELPA), researchpartners and states work together to:1. Build:

- individual State Interpretive Arguments (SIA), - a Common Interpretive Argument (CIA),

2. Design a set of studies and instruments to support and test these arguments (pilot level)

3. Make instruments publicly available

Role of Research Partnerships

• Collate information about the partner State’s ELPA system

• Identify and prioritize validity issues; input from Expert Panel (language and measurement experts, on-going contact)

• Create and pilot validation plans

• Foster collaboration between all RPs on protocol development, common issues, etc.

WA State Project Goals

• Create State Interpretative Argument (SIA) for the validity of the ELPA

• Identify:- Claims/assumptions in the ELPA- Dimension of validity evidence- Source of evidence

• Prioritize, design and pilot validation plans

1. Collating Information on WA State ELD Tests and Standards (Assessment

& Student Information Division; Migrant & Bilingual Education Program)

Description of the WA State ELPA System

System Key Components

1. Identifying population of potential ELL students with the Home Language Survey: “Triggered” by affirmative response to

Question#2: Is your child’s first language a language other than English?

2. Screening students with WLPT-II Placement Test

3. Requiring WLPT-II Annual Assessment of all Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP)-eligible students (EL services)

The Washington Language Proficiency Test-II (WLPT-II)

• Augmented Stanford English Language Proficiency Test (Pearson/Harcourt)– additional items aligned with WA ELD Standards– 4 levels of proficiency: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced

& Transitional

• First administered 2005-2006 school year• WLPT–II Placement Test

– Transitional (Level 4) not eligible for TBIP services

• WLPT–II Annual Assessment – Level 1 indicates minimal or no English language proficiency– Level 4 indicates a level of English language proficiency

sufficient to be instructed through an English-only instructional program

Intended Purposes and Uses of The WLPT-II Annual Assessment

Federal Accountability:• Annual Measurable Achievement Objective 1

(progress)

• Annual Measurable Achievement Objective 2 (proficiency)– Criterion for AMAO 2 (achieving proficiency)

» Transitional (Level 4) on WLPT-II Annual Assessment

Additional Uses

• Reclassification to Fluent English Proficient (R-FEP):– Transitional (Level 4) to exit TBIP services

• Program evaluation instrument

2. Identify and Prioritize ELPA Validity Issues

(OPSI Staff, Expert Panel, RP & EVEA team)

WLPT-II Validity Plans and Creation of the WA SIA

P rograms successfully

moving more E L L s tudents into the

P roficient category and exit them out

of the E L P programs

T he E L D s tandards have been developed

to support the acquis ition of E nglis h language proficiency necessary to achieve academic content and

performance expectations .

T he E L P A has been des igned to yield s cores that reflect

s tudents ’ knowledge and skills in relation to

academic E nglish language expectations

defined in the E L D s tandards .

AMAO 1:E L P A scores /

performance levels are used

appropriately to inform decis ions

about progress in attaining E nglish

language proficiency

AMAO 2:E L P A scores /

performance levels accurately reflect s tudents ’ E nglish

language proficiency

E L L s tudents becoming

proficient in E nglish, acquiring

the academic language skills necessary to

participate fully in ins tructional

discourse conducted in

E nglish.

Student Intake: Identifying the ELL population: HLS > Placement Test

(School/teacher role in this process)

External documentation/judgment: For adequacy of SLA theory, articulation of progressions of ELD/P and ELD/P construct definition adopted by ELD standards and assessments

ELPA (annual) administered as intended to yield scores for…

(School staff, teacher, TA roles)

Use and interpretation:Consequences for…

(Teacher role)

ELPA WA State Interpretive Argument

Foundations Document (Generic)• Identifies the external linguistic and

developmental factors by which to judge the legitimacy of the assumptions expressed in the existing ELPA system, namely:– second language acquisition theories – articulation of learning progressions for English language

proficiency (ELP), and– the ELP construct adopted (or implied) by the ELD

standards and assessments

• Raises issues that need to be considered in light of these assumptions, and

• Makes suggestions for moving forward.

Foundations Document (WA Specific)

• SIA

• Description of the WLPT-II

• Description of the WA State ELD Standards

• Catalogue of technical reports, existing validity studies:– Example: Evaluations of the Content of WLPT-II:

» Studies of alignment with WA ELD Standards (2005-6) » Item writers trained to write augmented items aligned

with the test blueprint» Existing SELP items modified if necessary» Items were sampled in ELL classrooms (directions clear/items “reliable” indictors of students achievement)» Results from IRT and DIF analyses for different groupsof test-takers (limited to potential gender biases)

P rograms successfully

moving more E L L s tudents into the

P roficient category and exit them out

of the E L P programs

T he E L D s tandards have been developed

to support the acquis ition of E nglis h language proficiency necessary to achieve academic content and

performance expectations .

T he E L P A has been des igned to yield s cores that reflect

s tudents ’ knowledge and skills in relation to

academic E nglish language expectations

defined in the E L D s tandards .

AMAO 1:E L P A scores /

performance levels are used

appropriately to inform decis ions

about progress in attaining E nglish

language proficiency

AMAO 2:E L P A scores /

performance levels accurately reflect s tudents ’ E nglish

language proficiency

E L L s tudents becoming

proficient in E nglish, acquiring

the academic language skills necessary to

participate fully in ins tructional

discourse conducted in

E nglish.

Student Intake: Identifying the ELL population: HLS > Placement Test

(School/teacher role in this process)

External documentation/judgment: For adequacy of SLA theory, articulation of progressions of ELD/P and ELD/P construct definition adopted by ELD standards and assessments

ELPA (annual) administered as intended to yield scores for…

(School staff, teacher, TA roles)

Use and interpretation:Consequences for…

(Teacher role)

ELPA WA State Interpretive Argument

Claim/AssumptionDimension of Validity

EvidenceSources of Evidence

The ELPA is administered as intended

Evidence based on internal structure

Study monitoring administration (e.g., two teachers, same student)Cluster analysis by administrator

ELPA scores accurately reflect student’s ELP

Evidence based on response processes

Triangulate with other measures of student ELP

Scales have been created to accurately reflect growth

Evidence based on internal structure

Statistical criteria in technical manual

Growth scores are used appropriately to make judgments about program effectiveness

Evidence based on test consequences

Focus group on interpreting dataTriangulate with other measures of school effectiveness

The ELPA is used to calculate growth in English Language acquisition over the year to determine school/program effectiveness

EXAMPLE Organization Chart (EVEA Project)Purpose 1:

Identifying & Prioritizing Issues

• Vertical scaling/year-to-year fluctuations: – Variation in exit (Transitional Level 4)

percentages year-to-year by grade level and test form

– Concerns: used as the TBIP services exit criterion (R-FEP)

Identifying & Prioritizing Issues

• Different ELL program eligibility and exit criteria:– Home Language Survey (HLS) and WLPT-II

Placement Test used to qualify new students for TBIP services

– WLPT-II Annual Assessment used as program exit criterion (and as program evaluation instrument)

– Concerns: HLS used as the initial identifying instrument (false positives/negatives)

Ideas for Investigating Fluctuations• Study of Test-level factors:

– Comparable forms: Issues with equating forms? – Document and evaluate item selection process

(Content analysis?)

• Study of External factors: – ELL program changes – Reduction in funding (less admin. training)– Changes in enrollment demographics

» Language background/new immigrant groups – direct and mediated by HLS less “accurate” for some groups (over/ under-identified)

Ideas for Improving Initial Identification of ELL Population

• Creation of an “Enhanced” HLS:– Pilot additional questions based on language

use in specific activity settings (e.g., research-base showing predictive validity of parent questionnaires about oral and print home practices and later oral language and reading outcomes in English; Reese & Goldenberg, 2008).

• Possible oral interview protocol for non-literate parents– Responsive to recent Somali refugee

population

Additional Areas of Study

• The Role of the WLPT-II in Language and Content-Area Instruction (surfaced by EP): - Survey teachers to determine:

- Whether teachers use WLPT-II results to plan content-area instruction for students (adaptation of existing CRESST teacher survey of science OTL and academic language exposure), and

- What level of instruction supports the English language needed for success on the WLPT-II

Reflections/Lessons Learned1. Liaising across OSPI Divisions and Programs:

– Dialogue across “silos”, often for first time – Easier for an outsider?

2. Meeting with Expert Panel & 5 EVEA States (tailoring SIA surfaced additional issues):– What are the boundaries of the Assessment Division’s

responsibility and sphere of influence?– Do teachers use ELPA scores? If so, how? – Need for the Foundations Document & more time!

Reflections/Lessons Learned3. RP Monthly Discussions:

– Address individual state and larger, across-state issues/RP interests (e.g., wider adoption of Foundation Document; White paper on HLS practices: differences and similarities)

– Accountability (impetus for steady progress)

4. Time(ing) & Attention: – Variation in size/capacity of state Assessment

Divisions (recommend staff designated to work with RP)

– EVEA versus… RTTT.

Thank You!

Contact Information:Alison Bailey: [email protected] Website: eveaproject.com

Additional Background Slides

Programs successfully move more ELL students into the Proficient category and exit

them out of the ELP programs

Programs successfully move more ELL students into the Proficient category and exit

them out of the ELP programs

The ELD standards have been developed to

support the acquisition of English language

proficiency necessary to achieve academic content

and performance expectations.

The ELD standards have been developed to

support the acquisition of English language

proficiency necessary to achieve academic content

and performance expectations.

The ELP assessment has been designed to yield scores that

reflect students’ knowledge and skills in relation to academic

English language expectations defined in the ELD standards.

The ELP assessment has been designed to yield scores that

reflect students’ knowledge and skills in relation to academic

English language expectations defined in the ELD standards.

ELP assessment scores/ performance

levels are used appropriately to inform decisions about progress in attaining English

language proficiency

ELP assessment scores/ performance

levels are used appropriately to inform decisions about progress in attaining English

language proficiency

ELP assessment scores/ performance

levels accurately reflect students’ English language

proficiency

ELP assessment scores/ performance

levels accurately reflect students’ English language

proficiency

The ELP assessment is administered as intended

The ELP assessment is administered as intended

ELL students become proficient in

English, acquiring the academic language skills necessary to

participate fully in instructional

discourse conducted in English.

ELL students become proficient in

English, acquiring the academic language skills necessary to

participate fully in instructional

discourse conducted in English.

EVEA Project: ELPA Common Interpretive Argument (2nd Draft)