This study will examine the effect of
a test accommodation and its impact on the validity of assessments
for English language learners (ELLs). Specifically, it examine the
ways in which linguistic modification affects students' ability to
access content (e.g., math) during testing. Linguistic modification
is a theory-based process in which the language in test items,
directions, and/or response options are modified in ways that
clarify and simplify the text without simplifying or significantly
altering the construct tested. By comparing the effects of
linguistic modification on the performance of ELL students with
that of English language proficient general education students
without disabilities (non-ELL/non-SD), this study aims to increase
understanding of the effects of an accommodationone that holds
promise as a means of decreasing the achievement gap between
non-ELL/non-SD and ELL studentson construct validity, differential
validity, and incremental validity of achievement test scores.
While the initial phase of this study focuses on instrument
refinement and validation, the second phase uses experimental
design to examine the effectiveness of this accommodation for ELLs
on tests of mathematics achievement.
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(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
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