Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items
We investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Routledge
2016
|
| _version_ | 1797056954395262976 |
|---|---|
| author | El Masri, Y Baird, J Graesser, A |
| author_facet | El Masri, Y Baird, J Graesser, A |
| author_sort | El Masri, Y |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | We investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument has considerable implications on methodologies used to address the equivalence of multiple language versions of the same assessment, including in the context of international assessment where cross-cultural fairness is a concern. We also argue that none of the available statistical or qualitative techniques are capable of teasing out the language variable and neutralising its potential effects on item difficulty and demands. Exploring the use of automated text analysis tools at the quality control stage may be successful in addressing some of these challenges. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:29:46Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:1d110345-46ce-4408-9c46-2af139319578 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:29:46Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:1d110345-46ce-4408-9c46-2af1393195782022-03-26T11:08:50ZLanguage effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science itemsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1d110345-46ce-4408-9c46-2af139319578EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordRoutledge2016El Masri, YBaird, JGraesser, AWe investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument has considerable implications on methodologies used to address the equivalence of multiple language versions of the same assessment, including in the context of international assessment where cross-cultural fairness is a concern. We also argue that none of the available statistical or qualitative techniques are capable of teasing out the language variable and neutralising its potential effects on item difficulty and demands. Exploring the use of automated text analysis tools at the quality control stage may be successful in addressing some of these challenges. |
| spellingShingle | El Masri, Y Baird, J Graesser, A Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title | Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title_full | Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title_fullStr | Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title_full_unstemmed | Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title_short | Language effects in international testing: the case of PISA 2006 science items |
| title_sort | language effects in international testing the case of pisa 2006 science items |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elmasriy languageeffectsininternationaltestingthecaseofpisa2006scienceitems AT bairdj languageeffectsininternationaltestingthecaseofpisa2006scienceitems AT graessera languageeffectsininternationaltestingthecaseofpisa2006scienceitems |