CBM Language Measures as Indicators of Foreign-Language Learning: Technical Adequacy of Scores for Secondary-School Students

International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.iarld.com/home/the-journal-thalamus

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16

Curriculum Based Assessment; Language Tests; Second Language Learning; Screening Tests; English (Second Language); Learning Disabilities; At Risk Students; Secondary School Students; Grade 8; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Scores; Educational Indicators; Standardized Tests; Achievement Tests; Criterion Referenced Tests; Oral Reading; Cloze Procedure; Indo European Languages; Translation; Language Proficiency; Progress Monitoring

2325-565X

Students with and without learning disabilities often struggle to learn a foreign language (FL). Teachers could benefit from a measure designed to screen and identify students at risk for FL learning difficulties. In this study, we examined the reliability and validity of scores from four curriculum-based measures (CBM) as potential indicators of English FL learning: reading aloud, maze selection, and English-to-Dutch and Dutch-to-English word translation. Participants were 133 Dutch students in Grade 8. Criterion variables were English course grades and scores on a standardized achievement test (Cito-VAS). Alternate-form reliability ranged from r = 0.77 to 0.87. Correlations between CBM and criterion measure scores ranged from r = -0.04 to 0.65. Scores from maze selection and reading aloud alone predicted English-language proficiency better than a combination of scores from the four measures, explaining 29.7% and 23.6% of the variance, respectively. Implications for the use of CBM for FL screening and progress-monitoring are discussed.

As Provided

2021

EJ1292023