Investigating correspondence between language proficiency standards and academic content standards

What is it about?

Research on the relationship between English language proficiency standards and academic content standards can provide information about the extent to which English language learners (ELLs) are expected to encounter academic language use that facilitates their content learning, such as in mathematics and science. Standards-to-standards correspondence thus contributes to validity evidence regarding ELLs’ achievement levels in a standard-based assessment system. The current study examines the reliability of reviewer judgments about language performance indicators associated with academic disciplines in standards-to-standards correspondence studies in the US K-12 settings. Using generalizability theory, reviewer reliability and standard errors of measurement in their judgments are evaluated with respect to the number of reviewers. Results show that depending on the particular grades and subject areas, 3-6 reviewers are needed to achieve an acceptable level of reliability and to control for a reasonable amount of measurement errors in their judgments.

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