Die 'Research Papers in Assessment' sind eine Reihe des Instituts für Testforschung und Testentwicklung e.V. (ITT), in der Forschungsergebnisse, Tagungsbeiträge und wichtige Einzeldarstellungen veröffentlicht werden.

Den kunskap som ett barns föräldrar och förskolepersonal besitter om dess språk är värdefull att tillvarata, särskilt då formaliserade språkbedömningar kan vara svåradministrerade med små barn. Detta kan exempelvis göras via föräldraenkäter. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka likheter och skillnader som förelåg mellan bedömningar av språklig förmåga hos barn, gjorda dels av föräldrar och förskolepersonal via en enkät, dels av logopedstudenter via en logopedisk bedömning. Studiedeltagarna utgjordes av 20 barn i åldrarna 2 ½ - 3 år, 20 föräldrar och 14 förskolepersonal. Föräldrar och förskolepersonal besvarade 18 frågor ur föräldraenkäten Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Test - 2 (REEL-2) och barnen testades av logopedstudenterna på uppgifter motsvarande dessa frågor. Resultatet visade bland annat att de genomsnittliga procentuella överensstämmelserna mellan bedömargrupperna var goda. Ingen kombination av bedömargrupper var signifikant mer överens än någon annan. Vissa tendenser till skillnader framkom när materialet analyserades med avseende på språkliga domäner och enskilda frågor. Slutsatsen var att bedömargrupperna föreföll kunna ge likvärdig, men inte identisk, information om barnens språkliga förmåga. Av den anledningen anses inhämtande av information från olika källor vara betydelsefull. Föräldraenkäter kan vara ett värdefullt verktyg i kontakten mellan logopeder, föräldrar och förskolepersonal och ökad användning av föräldraenkäter tros kunna förbättra samarbetet mellan dessa parter. / Parents’ knowledge about their children’s language is valuable to consider, particularly when formal tests can be difficult to administer with young children. The aim of this study was to examine similarities and differences between parents and preschool teacher’s reports on a questionnaire concerning children’s linguistic development and direct assessment by speech language pathology students. In the study 20 children aged 2 ½ - 3 years, 20 parents and 14 preschool teachers participated. The parents and preschool teachers answered 18 questions from the questionnaire Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Test - 2 (REEL-2) and the children were tested on items based on these questions. The results showed that the interjudge agreement between the groups was high. Some tendencies emerged when the material was analyzed with reference to language domains and individual questions. In conclusion, parents and preschool teachers seemed to be able to give similar information about the children’s linguistic abilities as provided by the direct assessment. The results also indicate that it is important to obtain information about a child’s language from different sources and that parental reports might be beneficial in the collaboration between speech language pathologists, parents and preschool teachers. Increased use of parental reports can facilitate the cooperation between these groups.

<p>Den kunskap som ett barns föräldrar och förskolepersonal besitter om dess språk är värdefull att tillvarata, särskilt då formaliserade språkbedömningar kan vara svåradministrerade med små barn. Detta kan exempelvis göras via föräldraenkäter. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka likheter och skillnader som förelåg mellan bedömningar av språklig förmåga hos barn, gjorda dels av föräldrar och förskolepersonal via en enkät, dels av logopedstudenter via en logopedisk bedömning. Studiedeltagarna utgjordes av 20 barn i åldrarna 2 ½ - 3 år, 20 föräldrar och 14 förskolepersonal. Föräldrar och förskolepersonal besvarade 18 frågor ur föräldraenkäten Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Test - 2 (REEL-2) och barnen testades av logopedstudenterna på uppgifter motsvarande dessa frågor.</p><p>Resultatet visade bland annat att de genomsnittliga procentuella överensstämmelserna mellan bedömargrupperna var goda. Ingen kombination av bedömargrupper var signifikant mer överens än någon annan. Vissa tendenser till skillnader framkom när materialet analyserades med avseende på språkliga domäner och enskilda frågor. Slutsatsen var att bedömargrupperna föreföll kunna ge likvärdig, men inte identisk, information om barnens språkliga förmåga. Av den anledningen anses inhämtande av information från olika källor vara betydelsefull. Föräldraenkäter kan vara ett värdefullt verktyg i kontakten mellan logopeder, föräldrar och förskolepersonal och ökad användning av föräldraenkäter tros kunna förbättra samarbetet mellan dessa parter.</p> / <p>Parents’ knowledge about their children’s language is valuable to consider, particularly when formal tests can be difficult to administer with young children. The aim of this study was to examine similarities and differences between parents and preschool teacher’s reports on a questionnaire concerning children’s linguistic development and direct assessment by speech language pathology students. In the study 20 children aged 2 ½ - 3 years, 20 parents and 14 preschool teachers participated. The parents and preschool teachers answered 18 questions from the questionnaire Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Test - 2 (REEL-2) and the children were tested on items based on these questions. </p><p>The results showed that the interjudge agreement between the groups was high. Some tendencies emerged when the material was analyzed with reference to language domains and individual questions. In conclusion, parents and preschool teachers seemed to be able to give similar information about the children’s linguistic abilities as provided by the direct assessment. The results also indicate that it is important to obtain information about a child’s language from different sources and that parental reports might be beneficial in the collaboration between speech language pathologists, parents and preschool teachers. Increased use of parental reports can facilitate the cooperation between these groups.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-116). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

<p>The purpose of this research is to reveal and compare the language proficiency profiles of Purdue’s Chinese and Indian graduate applicants in various disciplines to take a step towards the development of Language Proficiency Literacy (LPL) of graduate admissions decision makers. The study argues that before being able to offer LPL development opportunities to admissions decision-makers, language testers need to gain admissions literacy in their specific academic context. One way this can be achieved is by analyzing graduate admissions data to see patterns of test score use in each discipline and to reveal language proficiency profiles of graduate applicants. Providing admissions decision makers with information about the linguistic characteristics of their applicants can be a very helpful step towards enhancing LPL in the context of graduate admissions. </p> <p>One of the analyses conducted towards the goal LPL development in the context of graduate admissions was a Cluster Analysis procedure followed by a Chi-square analysis to compare the language proficiency profiles of graduate applicants from various L1 backgrounds based on scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The study found three language proficiency profiles in graduate applicants’ TOEFL data: 1) the ‘unbalanced’ profile, which consists of applicants who have higher scores in the subskills of reading and listening, and comparatively lower scores on speaking and writing, 2) the ‘balanced medium’ profile, which represents students who have moderate scores across all four subskills, and 3) the ‘balanced high’ profile, which consists of applicants who have high scores across all four subskills. The study found evidence for the interaction between graduate applicant test-takers’ L1 background and belonging to a balanced or an unbalanced language proficiency profile, which highlights the importance of considering subskill scores in addition the total score when using language proficiency test scores to select graduate students from specific L1 backgrounds.</p>

The issue of civic integration and requirements for citizenship has been a far-reaching debate that has taken place in the Swedish political context for several years. From the Liberals’ pioneering proposal for a language test for immigrants in 2002, the issue has 19 years later moved towards an increasing consensus that today finds majority support in the Swedish parliament. Although the proposal seems to contribute to greater integration, there are many critical approaches to analyse. The question that arises is whether these types of proposals, through their discursive design, create conditions that actually support integration or instead induce discrimination and exclusion of certain groups. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. One aim is to critically examine and analyse the political proposal on language- and civic knowledge for Swedish citizenship by looking at government documents and motions from Sweden's opposition parties. The thesis examines whether racist discourses are reproduced or maintained by analysing the proposal to review further how it is legitimised. The secondary purpose will be to problematise how such a proposal can affect the right to citizenship based on the risks of discrimination and exclusion. This is done by guidance from Fairclough's three- dimensional model, whose method allows to examine the textual structure, the discursive and social practice of the given material. The theoretical framework evolved from theories that sufficiently understand how civic requirements can be understood based on different exclusion mechanisms. The essay concludes that the proposal raises issues of human rights, that the state legitimises the proposal through discursive means and that there are tendencies that reproduce racist discourses.

This study addresses the usefulness of elicited imitation (EI) and automated speech recognition (ASR) as a tool for second language acquisition (SLA) research by evaluating differences among learners of Japanese. The findings indicate that the EI and ASR grading system used in this study was able to differentiate between beginning- and advanced-level learners as well as instructed and self-instructed learners. No significant difference was found between self-instructed learners with and without post-mission instruction. The procedure, reliability and validity of the ASR-based computerized EI are discussed. Results and discussion will provide insights regarding different types of second language (L2) development, the effects of instruction, implications for teaching, as well as limitations of the EI and ASR grading system.

This study investigates the effect of testing mode on lower-level Saudi Arabian test-takers’ performance and cognitive processes when taking an L2 reading test on computer compared to its paper-based counterpart from an interface design perspective. An interface was developed and implemented into the computer-based version of the L2 reading test in this study, which was administered to 102 Saudi Arabian University students for quantitative analyses and to an additional eighteen for qualitative analyses. All participants were assessed on the same L2 reading test in two modes on two separate occasions in a within-subject design. Statistical tests such as correlations, group comparisons, and item analyses were employed to investigate test-mode effect on test-takers’ performance whereas test-takers’ concurrent verbalizations were recorded when taking the reading test to investigate their cognitive processes. Strategies found in both modes were compared through their frequency of occurrence. In addition, a qualitative illustration of test-takers cognitive behavior was given to describe the processes when taking a lower-level L2 reading test. A mixed-method approach was adhered to when collecting data consisting of questionnaires think-aloud protocols, and post-experimental interviews as main data collection instruments. Results on test-takers’ performance showed that there was no significant difference between the two modes of testing on overall reading performance, however, item level analyses discovered significant differences on two of the test’s items. Further qualitative investigation into possible interface design related causes for these differences showed no identifiable relationship between test-takers’ performance and the computer-based testing mode. Results of the cognitive processes analyses showed significant differences in three out of the total number of cognitive processes employed by test-takers indicating that test-takers had more difficulties in processing text in the paper-based test than in the computer-based test. Both product and process analyses carried out further provided convincing supporting evidence for the cognitive validity, content validity, and context validity contributing to the construct validity of the computer-based test used in this study.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur begripligheten i Göta hovrätts domar förändrats mellan 2001 och 2021. Studien syftar till att undersöka dels hur syntax och lexikon förändrats i domarna, dels hur följsamheten till klarspråksråd har förändrats under perioden. Materialet består av totalt 18 domar från Göta hovrätt: tre brottmålsdomar och tre tvistemålsdomar vardera från 2001, 2011 och 2021. En kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod har använts i studien: I den kvantitativa analysen undersöktes syntax och lexikon i samtliga 18 domar och i den kvalitativa textanalysen användes klarspråkstestet för domar som verktyg för att analysera sex av domarna djupare. Resultatet visar att det skett förändringar i domspråket under den tid som undersökts, men att det inte är entydigt huruvida domarna har blivit mer begripliga eller ej. Den kvantitativa analysen visar att domarna i många avseenden ligger längre ifrån klarspråksidealet år 2021 än 2001 och 2011. Resultatet av den kvalitativa analysen visar dock att följsamheten till klarspråksråden förbättrats under den undersökta perioden. Facktermer rensas bort eller förklaras i större utsträckning, det juridiska språket närmar sig det vardagliga och tonen blir mer läsarvänlig. Den sammantagna slutsatsen blir därför att domarna i vissa avseenden blivit mer begripliga och närmat sig idealet, men att ytterligare förbättringar krävs för att de ska bli tillgängliga även för icke juridiskt kunniga läsare. / The purpose of this study is to examine how the comprehensibility of the judgments from Göta Court of Appeal has changed between 2001 and 2021. The study aims to examine how the syntax and terminology has changed within the judgments as well as how the compliance with Plain Language Guidelines has changed during this period. The material consists of 18 judgments from Göta Court of Appeal: three criminal convictions and three civil actions each from the years of 2001, 2011 and 2021.A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods has been used: In the quantitative analysis, syntax and terminology were examined in all eighteen judgments and for the qualitative analysis, Klarspråkstestet (“the plain language test”) was used as a mean to further analyze six of the judgments. The results show that the language has changed during the selected period, but it remains ambiguous whether the language has become more comprehensible or not. The quantitative analysis shows that the judgments lie further away from the Plain Language Ideal in 2021 than they did in 2001 and 2011. However, the results of the qualitative analysis show that the compliance with Plain Language Guidelines has improved during this period. Technical terms are removed or explained to a greater extent, the legalese is approaching the everyday language and the tone is becoming more reader friendly. The conclusion is therefore that in some respects, the judgments have become more comprehensible, but that further improvements are required to make them accessible for readers who do not have a clear understanding of judicial language.

L’étude présente l’élaboration du premier outil d’évaluation normalisée du langage destiné aux enfants francophones d’âge préscolaire des pays africains qui se caractérisent par l’absence de services publics en orthophonie et la méconnaissance des retards de langage. En s’inspirant des techniques psychométriques langagières utilisées en Amérique du nord et en se basant sur les théories d’acquisition du langage, on a construit un outil appelé Batterie de tests de dépistage approfondi (BATEDA) qui compte onze tests répartis en trois sous-batteries évaluant respectivement l’intégrité des modalités de transmission du langage (BATEM), les composantes langagières (BATEL) et la mémoire verbale (TMV). A partir d’un échantillon de 159 enfants camerounais francophones, on a normalisé la batterie suivant la cote z et les rangs en centile. Les tests présentent une fiabilité inter-juge et intra-juge (p<0,05), une cohérence interne globale d’environ 96% (α de Cronbach=0,958) et une validité prédictive de la réussite scolaire des enfants (r=0,700). Les stratégies d’application de la BATEDA visent à favoriser la pratique du dépistage systématique et la prise en charge des retards de langage au Cameroun, en mettant à contribution les enseignants et les parents comme principaux intervenants. Les implications de cette étude sont de trois ordres : (1) une meilleure connaissance des difficultés langagières, la revalorisation des personnes atteintes et une attitude de vigilance sociale; (2) l’instauration de la pratique de dépistage précoce favorable à l’intervention; (3) une potentielle diminution du taux d’exclusion et d’abandon scolaire d’enfants présentant des retards langagiers à travers un enseignement ciblé en leur faveur. / The study aims at the building of the first normalized language assessment test intended for French-speaking preschoolers living in African countries where language delays are ignored and where there is a lack of public services in speech-language therapy. Being inspired by the format of standardized language tests, and based on language acquisition theories, we developed a tool named Batterie de tests de dépistage approfondi (BATEDA) which combine eleven tests organized in three batteries assessing respectively modalities (BATEM), language components (BATEL) and memory (TMV). From a sample of 159 Cameroonian French-speaking four-to-five-years old children, the tool has been normalized using standard scores technique (the z score and the percentile). Tests have an inter-scorer reliability, an internal consistency of 96% (α de Cronbach=0,958) and a predictive validity of the primary school success of children (r=0,700). The application strategies of BATEDA aim at encouraging the screening of language delays in order to take charge of these difficulties in Cameroon by implicating teachers and parents as main participants. Among the implications of this study, we have the better knowledge of difficulties related to language delays, the better consideration of children affected, the establishment of early screening and language assessment on behalf of intervention, and a potential decrease of the rate of school abandon and expulsion of children with language delays.