Language Proficiency Assessment. 2:Rogan presentation.pdfproficiency tests; educate on standards and evaluate student feedback, all in support of the Defense Foreign Language Program

Language Proficiency Assessment

Seumas RoganChief, Test Design & Analysis

DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER

Develop, validate, administer, sustain, and

assess results of standardized language

proficiency tests; educate on standards

and evaluate student feedback, all in support

of the Defense Foreign Language Program.

Mission Statement

2


Priorities

• Sustainment of deployed assessments.• Validity and reliability of all test modalities.• Alignment of the workforce with the mission and strategy.

• Stabilization and control of the business processes.

• Definition/implementation of the next generation of assessments.

3


LPAD Org Chart

Test Production Division(TP)

Test Analysis and Design Division

(TAD)

Test Management Division(TM)

Oral Proficiency Standards Division

(PSD)

Test Review and Education Division

(TRE)

Deputy Director

Director,Language Proficiency

Assessment

4

Evaluations Division (EV)

Technology

Stakeholder Relations

Dr. Pradyumna Amatya

Brent EickholtDr. Tom Parry Dr. Gerd Brendel

Dr. Chung Yao Kao Dr. Seumas Rogan

Susan Hagan

Kalman Weinfeld


Summary of LPAD Functions

• TP: Produce language proficiency assessments in Listening and Reading Comprehension.

• TRE: Review test items and train faculty and staff in ILR.• TAD: Design and analyze the performance of language

proficiency assessments.• PSD: Certify and manage the performance of Oral

Proficiency Interview (OPI) testers.• TM: Schedule and administer DLI graduation tests and

external OPI.• EV: Survey students and report statistics and red-flags.• Technology: Design and maintain automated solutions for

language testing business processes. 5


QA / QCEthical

Practices

NEEDS ANALYSIS

TEST SPECS

FRAME WORK

DEVELOPMENT

PRETEST & ANALYZE

STANDARD SETTING

DEPLOY TEST

MAINTAIN EVALUATE

LESSONS LEARNED

IMP

LEM

EN

TATI

ON

DLPT Lifecycle


Test Production

• Test platforms: – Multiple Choice (MCT) – high volume (>200).– Constructed Response (CRT) – low volume.

• Standard development latency: ~30 months.• Standard development cost (Listening + Reading):

~$1.25M.• Sustainment and Computer Adaptive Tests require

pools of characterized items:– Generated via automatic seeding of new items in the

released test forms.7


Test Production

• Automatic Seeding Status:– Multiple Choice Tests (MCT): on line for 6 languages (Chinese-

Mandarin, Modern Standard Arabic, Pashto, Persian Farsi, Russian, Spanish); 4 additional languages scheduled/year.

– Constructed Response Tests (CRT): Reduction in scored items (via a reduction in scored levels) required to enable seeding.

• Scheduled Test Releases (2015-2017):– 9 MCT: Urdu, Chinese-Cantonese, Tagalog, Portuguese, German, Hindi,

Thai, Swahili, Vietnamese– 6 CRT: Haitian-Creole, Yoruba, Kazakh, Amharic, Hausa, Malay

• Computer Adaptive Tests (CAT):– Planning implementation for 13 DLI high-volume languages.

8


Test Review and Education

• Conduct independent target language reviews of each test-item set for correctness, completeness, appropriateness, and adherence to specified ILR levels.

• Provide Text Typology and Passage Rating training under the ILR Guidelines to all DLPT5 test developers, independent reviewers, and DLIFLC faculty (by request).

• Represent DLI at the ILR testing work-group to ensure interoperability among various government agencies and international partners.


Test Analysis & Design

• Coordinate DLPT design initiatives:– DLPT5 Validity Framework

• What do DLPT scores mean? How should they be used?

– Item Bank Specification• Are we asking the right questions?

– Web-Based Field Testing• Can we obtain a representative sample of examinees to

calibrate items?

– Small-n Standard Setting Study• How do we set passing scores without item parameter data?

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Highlight: Design

• Issue– Lack of field testing participation for DLPT5s in Cantonese, Tagalog, Hindi, German

– Results in:• Examinee proficiency misclassification

• Redress– Web‐Based Field Testing

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Test Analysis & Design

• Conduct statistical analysis of:– Item response data

• Do test items perform within specified tolerances?

– Test form reliability• Are results on test forms equivalent?

– Standard setting cut score recommendations• Are cut scores fair, reliable and valid?

– Examinee comments /feedback• Have examinees expressed actionable concerns?

– Item bank characteristics• What is the distribution of content across the range of

difficulty?12


Highlight: Analysis (1)

• Issue– Questionable standard setting panelist recommendations

– Results in:• Examinee proficiency misclassification

• Redress– Small‐n standard setting study

– Additional field testing data 13

0.1

.2.3

Den

sity

0.5

11.

5D

ensi

ty

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60NC Cuts

ILR LVL 1+ ILR LVL2ILR LVL 2+ ILR LVL 3


Highlight: Analysis (2)

• Issue– DLIFLC faculty question why few examinees are awarded ILR 2+ in Korean DLPT5

• Redress– Demonstrate that, consistent with test specifications, maximum score precision at ILR levels 2 /2+ /3

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•Train and certify select faculty as OPI testers at DLIFLC.

•Provide orientation training for DLIFLC faculty on the ILR and OPI.

•Ensure appropriate interpretation and uniform implementation of the ILR at DLIFLC and the DLIFLC contract entities.

•Provide quality assurance that OPI testers (DLIFLC and contract) are providing consistently fair and accurate assessments.

Proficiency Standards Division

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Test Management Division

• Schedule, test, and report results for DLIFLC resident students.

• Grade all Constructed Response Tests administered.• FY14 volume: DLPT (RC+LC)@ DLI: 8,949

(Worldwide: ~123,000); OPI: DLI: 3,407, External: 15,463; ICPT: 10,745; CRT Gradings: 10,193.

• Test capacity: 5 DLPT test labs; 7 OPI studios.– New semester-based scheduling requires 3 additional OPI

studios.

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Evaluation Division

• Provide DLIFLC leadership with valid and reliable evaluative information.

• Outcomes (FY14): –5,330 ISQ/ESQ Evaluation surveys.–121 Red Flag reports.–198 Snapshot reports.–256 Attrition surveys.–394 Non-Resident Surveys.

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Technology

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• DOMINO (Test Item Development and Workflow Automation System)– Centralized and version controlled system hosting 49

DLPT5 development projects • 52 active users• 7,670 test passages; 11,464 test items

– Enforces standardized workflow and task assignment processes

– Expanding for contractor-model of DLPT item development, Psychometric support and direct reporting


• SharePoint – Platform for ongoing DLPT5 External Review contract

• 150 active users• 5,008 test items

– Repository of previously contracted DLPT5 items • 32,952 test items

• TDMS (Test Management System) – Automatic scheduling and scoring processes for OPI and

DLPT– Repository of score data– Expanding to support Psychometric Item-Response data

requirements 19


A few words about the ILR

• Inter‐Agency Language Roundtable– Dates to 1950’s– Skill level descriptions for

• Speaking, Listening, Reading, – Used as the primary reference by US Government Agencies

– http://www.govtilr.org/

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ILR Proficiency Scale

• Set of general language proficiency descriptionsindicating what language learners CAN or CANNOT do using the target language – i.e., Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs) of/with the target language

• 6 “base” levels, and “plus (+)” levels in‐between to indicate that proficiency exceeds one level but is not sustained at the next level

• Used by DLIFLC in developing DLPT5 and classifying the results

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5

0

1

2

3

4

0+

1+

2+

3+

4+5 = Functional Native Proficiency

4 = Advanced Professional Proficiency

3 = General Professional Proficiency

2 = Limited Working Proficiency

1 = Elementary Proficiency

0 = No Proficiency

4+ = Advanced Professional Proficiency +

3+ = General Professional Proficiency +

2+ = Limited Working Proficiency +

1+ = Elementary Proficiency +

0+ = Memorized Proficiency

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5

0

0+

1

1+

2

2+

3

3+4

4+

Focus of the Lower Range DLPT5

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Speaking 1 (Elementary Proficiency):

• Initiates, maintains, and brings to close simple conversations by asking and responding to simple questions. Can be understood, with some repetition, by speakers accustomed to dealing with non‐native speakers.

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Speaking 2 (Limited Working Proficiency):

• Narrates and describes in major time frames and deals effectively with an unanticipated complication. Can be understood without difficulty by speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non‐native speakers.

25


Speaking 3 (General Professional Proficiency):

• Discusses topics extensively, supports opinions and hypothesizes, deals with a linguistically unfamiliar situation. Errors never interfere with communication or distract the native speaker from the message.

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For More Information:

http://www.dliflc.edu/

• Detlev Kesten [email protected]• Mina Lee [email protected]• Chung Yao Kao [email protected]• Seumas Rogan [email protected]

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Documents

Language Proficiency Assessment. 2:Rogan presentation.pdfproficiency tests; educate on standards and evaluate student feedback, all in support of the Defense Foreign Language Program