The Reliability and Validity of Language Proficiency Assessments for English Language Learners

Abstract

(2010) stated that the consequences of language assessment will influence not only the individuals but also the educational system and society. Former researches have proved that the ELLs have been misplaced and improperly classified in the English education programs or even in the special education. Solano-Flores (2008) believed that the current tests used for ELLs are based on "deterministic views" and "erroneous assumptions" (p. 189). For example, the ELLs are classified into a few language proficiency categories, and only the English proficiency of the ELLs is assessed without any assessment of their first language proficiency. Most of the bilingual programs focus mainly on English proficiency development while failing to show their first language proficiency development. Second, Solano-Flores (2008) also stated that the assessments for ELLs are rarely comprehensive enough to show their listening, speaking, reading and writing development of first language and second languages. "As a result , language tests may provide fragmented and inconsistent information about the linguistic proficiency of ELLs" (p. 189). Third, the definition of ELLs is related to their demographic characteristics and tends to misclassify the ELLs. The English language proficiency tests for ELLs are designed according to the mono-lingual, English-speaking students instead of the ELLs who learn English as a second language, which also leads to misclassification of the ELLs. To examine the English proficiency assessments can, in the short term, reduce the misplacement of ELLs, improve the English proficiency assessment of ELLs, help ELLs exit the program and help to make decision and policy. In the long run, improvement of the English proficiency tests for ELLs can guide bilingual teachers to interpret English proficiency test scores and assess the ELLs effectively, compare the English proficiency tests currently used and explore the effectiveness of these English proficiency tests, and to search the more effective methods to assess the ELLs爷 English proficiency. The following research questions will be addressed in this library-based research paper: 1. What are the English proficiency assessments currently used for ELLs in the early-exit TBE programs in elementary schools? 2. What are the validity and reliability of these English language proficiency assessments? 3. Review of the Literature There are studies explained the different English language proficiency tests adopted to test the ELLs (Al-bers et al., 2009), which compared the pro-NCLB tests and post-NCLB tests. There are also studies defined the construct in the English language proficiency tests (Bailey & Huang, 2011), and the influences exerted by the score report after the English language proficiency tests (Abedi, 2008). The study conducted by MacSwan and Pray (2005) focused on the linguistic requirements in the assessments while Bailey (2017) proposed integration of linguistic requirements with academic content requirements. MacSwan and Pray (2005) examined 89 ELLs in bilingual programs and found out that they did not learn English slower than students in only English programs and they believed that English proficiency should involve phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics. Bailey (2007) integrated the linguistic requirements with the academic English skills to assess the ELLs爷 linguistic ability and academic content, thus forming the academic English proficiency assessment, including, listening, reading, speaking and writing. Hauck, Wolf and Mislevy (2016) stated that NCLB changed the education of ELLs from two aspects. First, the ELLs are required to be included in the standardized assessments as the non-ELLs to meet the accountability requirement of NCLB. Second, it is required that new English language proficiency standards should be established by every state which is supposed to be corresponding to content standards, and the standardized English language proficiency assessments should test the ELLs annually. 3.