Recommendations to Improve

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Recommendations to Improve Accessibility of Text
Material on Assessments for English Language
Learners (ELL) Presented by Christopher
Renner at Mid TESOL 2001 Education Program
Consultant, State Federal Programs Kansas State
Department of Education Source Kopriva ,
Rebecca (2000). Ensuring Accuracy in Testing
For English Language Learners. Washington , D C
Council of Chief State School Officers.
State Collaborative on Assessments and Student
Standards . LEP Consortium .
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• Nine Elements in Writing
• Accessible Items
• Defining what items measure
• Clear expectations
• Use of plain language
• Use of plain format
• Use simple visuals
• Access and contextual information
• Access to tools and resources
• Access and performance activities
• Additional issues of the native language

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• Defining What Items Measure
• Item construction statements explain what
  specific knowledge and/or skills the items intend
  to measure.
• Statements about what is measured are critical
  for those championing accessibility because these
  statements explicitly define the validity intent,
  or exactly what content is supposed to be
  measured, for each item.

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• Clear Expectations
• It is easy for educated adults to make
  assumptions about what is expected, which often
  produces misleading results about student mastery
  when students have to guess.
• Student response options must be clearly stated.
• If the quality of the students writing and/or
  the presentation of
• information in the charts, pictures, and other
  visuals will be evaluated, then it must be
  explicit that these will be evaluated.
• Any additional requirements or constraints
  should be spelled out.

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• Using Plain Language
• 1. Item sentences or stems must be kept brief and
  straightforward, with a simple sentence or phase
  structure.
• Dont add clauses or phrases
• Use S-V-O structure throughout
• 2. Consistency in paragraph structures should be
  employed.
• topic sentence
• explanatory sentences
• conclusion

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Using Plain Language (continued) 3. The present
tense and active voice should be used as much as
possible. present tense and active voice are
learnt first 4. Rephrasing or rewording ideas
and sentences should be kept to a minimum.
Use the same words to refer to the same
phenomenon, concept, person, place, thing,
action, or modifier rather than using a variety
of words.
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Using Plain Language (continued) 5. Pronouns
should be used in a very judicious manner. The
same word should be used repeatedly, rather than
using pronouns to refer to people, things, or
ideas. 6. High-frequency words are the best
choice. Pepperoni vs. anchovies. 7. Words
with double meanings or colloquialisms should be
omitted or defined in the text. earth vs.
soil fault (geologic feature) vs. fault
(error)
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Using Plain Format Plain formatting
assessments is to minimize or offset sensory
overload. ELL sometimes struggle with overload
because they must translate back and forth in
their heads between their native language and
English. ELL also benefit because formatting
breaks up text or presents other sources of
stimulation beyond the text.
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Using Plain Format (continued) Visuals are
often important, but they should be kept simple
and to the point. Large print forms should
be available for LEP students. At least some
forms should omit the use of item columns, limit
the number of items per page, and/or provide
students with a template to use. Templates are
only helpful if students are accustomed to
working with them.
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Using Plain Format (continued) Sample
templates should be part of advance sample
materials which teachers should encourage to use
in class, but as few as possible should be used
on tests. Lines of boxes which frame text or
answer space should be used in a judicious
way. Forms that include these recommendations
should be used widely.
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Use of Simple Visuals The use of simple visuals
helps facilitate understanding of what is being
asked/presented in a specific item or related
items. Visuals should be used to facilitate
the understanding of what is being asked or
presented in an item or group of items.
Visuals mirror, or paralleled, the item
statements and expectations.
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• Use of Simple Visuals
• (continued)
• No supplementary or unnecessary information
  should be
• placed in the visual to distract students from
  the requirements of the item.
• Each major part of the item should be
  represented in the
• visual.
• Simple text can and should be used in the visuals
  that correspond to important words in the item.

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Contextual Information Contextual information
consists of introductory or explanatory text,
which is part of items or blocks of items.
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Contextual Information (continued) Advantages
and disadvantages exist to including contextual
information for ELL. To some extent effects are
mitigated by how the contextual information is
conveyed to the student. A solution is to
maximize the advantages and minimize the
disadvantages to using contextual information.
In general, contextual information should be
included in assessments for limited English
proficient (LEP) students.
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• Contextual Information
• (continued)
• Disadvantages related to including contextual
  information for LEP students should be
  minimized.
• use same directions throughout assessment
• break down directions into workable units
• keep contextual information to the point
• include performance activities, which give
  substantial access to those students with
  kinesthetic, tactile, spatial, and related
  strengths
• all text should be in plain format
• directions and explanations should be read
  aloud, as students follow in their test booklets
• spread directions evenly throughout the exercise
• visuals should be incorporated
• pretest discussions before a set of items and/or
  performance activity should enhance access

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Access to Tool Resources Tools and resources
are physical aids like mathematics manipulatives
they should be age appropriate and should not
compromise the integrity of the test items.
Tools and resources should not give some students
an advantage in understanding what items are
requiring or how students demonstrate what they
know.
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Access to Tool Resources (continued)
test-givers should allow reasonable access to a
set of tools and resources throughout the test,
and remove the specific tool or resource when
items explicitly measure that specific skill.
local content standards should define what tools
and resources are useful and allowable.
reasonable access mean that most items (not just
one or two per test) will be accessible to
students with a range of diverse strengths.
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Additional Issues of Native Language and
Culture Test writers need to be aware of some
of the cultural differences that exist between
ELL and other populations. False friends exist
in vocabulary words, periods are sometimes used
instead of commas in mathematics, a billion in
English can mean a trillion in Spanish, etc.
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Additional Issues of Native Language and
Culture (continued) Two sets of cultural
expectations seem to have a primary impact on how
a student understands the requirements of an
item 1) expectations in items that assume
prior experiences that are common is a student
grows up in the US 2) expectations in items
that assume a value system common to the value
system typically endorsed in the US.
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Additional Issues of Native Language and
Culture (continued) These expectations become
especially problematic when a students
experiences or values are distinctly diverse from
those typically experienced by the mainstream
population in the US.