Probabilistic Approaches to Examining Linguistic Features of Test Items and Their Effect on the Performance of English Language Learners

Abstract

This article addresses validity and fairness in the testing of English language learners (ELLs)—students in the United States who are developing English as a second language. It discusses limitations of current approaches to examining the linguistic features of items and their effect on the performance of ELL students. The article submits that these limitations stem from the fact that current ELL testing practices are not effective in addressing three basic notions on the nature of language and the linguistic features of test items: (a) language is a probabilistic phenomenon, (b) the linguistic features of test items are multidimensional and interconnected, and (c) each test item has a unique set of linguistic affordances and constraints. Along with the limitations of current testing practices, for each notion, the article discusses evidence of the effectiveness of several probabilistic approaches to examining the linguistic features of test items in ELL testing.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A previous version of this article was presented under the title, “Probabilistic approaches to examining the impact of items’ linguistic features on student performance” at the symposium, Assessment of Linguistic Minorities: An International Perspective, at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, Vancouver, Canada, April 15, 2012, organized by Kadriye Ercikan. Thanks to Ron Hambleton for his comments on a previous version of this article.