LINGUIST List 15.910

Thu Mar 18 2004

FYI: English Language Learners Assessment Study

Editor for this issue: Anne Clarke <annelinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Yael Kidron, Linguistic Study: Math Test Items

We are looking for expert raters who are native English speakers (or
native Spanish speakers) and who have a masters degree is linguistics
(or are currently enrolled in a graduate program). Participation
takes about three to four hours.

The study is part of a larger project entitled "English Language
Learners Assessment" funded by the NSF. The rationale for the study is
based upon findings showing that the language of test items affects
students' performance. The aim of this project is to compare
linguists' heuristic evaluation of syntactical complexity with a more
systematic quantitative approach of evaluating test items. We test
ways in which expert knowledge in syntactic complexity can be used in
the development of educational tests.

In addition to compensation for the time and travel, we are offering a
look at new directions for research.

We are located in Palo Alto, California. For more information, please
call Dr. Yael Kidron at (650) 962 0715 .