Technology-interactive Classroom-embedded Modules for Measuring Challenging Math and Science Skills of ELs

This project investigates the validity, feasibility, and usability of classroom-embedded tasks designed to measure challenging mathematics and science knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of lower English proficient English learners, and is designed to provide valued learning progress data to the students and their teachers.

Students will be asked to respond to questions by building, modeling, assembling, categorizing, or producing relational or inferential explanations using screen stimuli. A total of 4 middle school end-of-unit modules, each with about 5 performance tasks and a total of about 20 items and 25 score points each, will be constructed to measure terminal and supporting KSAs.

English learner students with a range of English proficiency and native speakers will participate in the labs. For the randomized trials English learner students will be stratified by geographic region, SES, school make up, type of English language acquisition programs, and time in country, and speak a home language of either Spanish or one other non-English language decided by the Council and interested districts. The control group students will attend the same districts and schools as their EL peers.

Feasibility and utility data related to the modules and associated materials for teachers, students, and prospective decision makers, will be gathered from educators during development, testing, and post-trials using questionnaires and interview protocols. Data will also be gathered from students during the lab interviews. These results will be coded and qualitative content analysis procedures will be used to examine product usefulness.