Interpreting the Impact of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on Second Language Students Within an Argument-Based Validation Framework

Abstract

This article draws on Kane’s (2006) argument-based validation framework to synthesize evidence derived from a large-scale, mixed-method explanatory study on the impact of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) on second language (L2) students. The purpose of the OSSLT is to ensure that students have acquired the essential reading and writing skills that apply to all subject areas in the Ontario provincial curriculum up to the end of Grade 9 in Canada. Kane’s framework is used both to specify the proposed interpretations and uses of the OSSLT results by laying out the network of inferences and assumptions involved in this test and to elaborate whether the proposed interpretations and uses have been supported by empirical evidence from the study. Findings from the study show that the results of the OSSLT, a test constructed and normed for first language English speakers, should be interpreted differently and with caution for second language students. By synthesizing the empirical evidence within an argument-based validation framework, we can fully understand the impact of the OSSLT in relation to test design, test accommodation, and literacy classroom practices in the Canadian context.

Notes

¹ This study was supported by a standard research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

² In this article we use L2 students in a broad sense. According to the recent Ontario Ministry of Education document, English as a Second Language (ESL) / English Literacy Development (ELD) students are referred to as English Language Learners (ELLs). A detailed definition of the six categories of ELLs can be found in Ontario Ministry of Education (2007).

³ Facets of the OSSLT item formats, text types, skills and strategies of reading and the four writing tasks are italicized in the paper as they are defined by EQAO.