This project investigates how vignette illustrations minimize the impact of limited English proficiency on student performance in science tests. Different analyses will determine whether and how ELL and non-ELL students differ significantly on the ways they use vignettes to make sense of items; whether the use of vignettes reduces test-score differences due to language factors between ELL and non-ELL students; and whether the level of distance of the items moderates the effectiveness of vignette-illustrated items.
Guillermo Solano-Flores
Professional Title
Associate Professor
Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
Dr. Guillermo Solano-Flores specializes in educational measurement, assessment development, and the linguistic and cultural issues that are relevant to both the testing of linguistic minorities and international test comparisons. He is Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language at the School of Education of the University of Colorado, Boulder. A psychometrician by formal training, his work focuses on the development of alternative, multidisciplinary approaches that address linguistic and cultural diversity in testing. He has conducted research on the development, translation, localization, and review of science and mathematics tests; the design of software for computer-assisted scoring; and the development of assessments for the professional certification of science teachers. He has been principal investigator in several National Science Foundation-funded projects that have examined the intersection of psychometrics and linguistics in testing. He is the author of the theory of test translation error, which addresses testing across cultures and languages. Also, he has investigated the use of generalizability theory—a psychometric theory of measurement error—in the testing of English language learners. He has advised Latin American countries on the development of national assessment systems and contributed to the development of the National Assessment of Educational Progress 2009 Science Framework with advice on strategies for the testing of linguistic minorities. Current research projects investigate the measurement of mathematics academic language load in tests and the design and use of illustrations as a form of testing accommodations for English language learners with an approach that uses cognitive science, semiotics, and sociolinguistics in combination. He is a member of the research team of an international study that investigates the feasibility of adapting and translating performance tasks into multiple languages.
Keywords
University of Colorado Boulder
09/01/2008
University of Colorado Boulder
09/01/2011
This is an exploratory study to identify critical aspects of effective science formative assessment (FA) practices for English Language Learners (ELLs), and the contextual factors influencing such practices. FA, in the context of the study, is viewed as a process contributing to the science learning of ELLs, as opposed to the administration of discrete sets of instruments to collect data from students. The study targets Spanish-speaking, elementary and middle school students.