This article compares Spanish proficiency assessments across three states (Texas, Arizona, and California) in relation to four overarching themes: (a) verification methods of proficiency; (b) test-task authenticity; (c) impact of pedagogical content knowledge in test performance; and (d) conceptions of language 'correctness' on the scoring…

Chemistry is traditionally perceived as difficult to comprehend. Its mastery requires that a variety of concepts be linked to form an organized knowledge system. The connections need to be made not only between the concepts associated with the macroscopic level of the chemistry triplet but also between the submicroscopic and symbolic levels. Many…

With the recent implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 705, assessment and placement practices for math and English have taken center stage in many California Community Colleges. However, it is just as important to develop an understanding of how best to assess and place English language learner (ELL) students as well. In February 2019, the Research…

The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, 2nd Edition (CTOPP-2; Wagner et al., 2013) is commonly used in k-12 public schools to assess basic cognitive processing skills foundational for reading achievement. Psychometric support for its use with dual language learners (DLLs), a group representing over 10% of the school-aged population in…

The RP Group's Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) produced this technical report as part of a series on how California's community colleges can ensure more English learners (ELs) successfully complete "gateway" English coursework -- courses that satisfy the English writing requirements for completion of an associate's degree as…

Descriptive evidence shows that English learners (ELs) have lower high school graduation and 4-year-college attendance rates than monolingual and fluent English users. Applying the regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California, this study identifies the first causal effects of initial EL…

L2 lexical studies have established that learners need to acquire knowledge of the first 3,000 most frequent words in order to enjoy 95% coverage of the vocabulary used in spontaneous speech (Nation 2006). However, there has been little data available that reveal how many of these most frequent words can be recognized by university language…

Washback, that is, the effect of tests on teaching and learning, has captured the interest of scholars in applied linguistics for almost 30 years. However, most research has been conducted on large-scale tests, rather than classroom-based language assessments like ACTFL's Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA). The present study explored washback…

Team teaching is re-emerging as a relevant research topic in language education due to the complexity and realities of globalization (Williams, Evans, & Metcalf, 2010). This qualitative study examined the characteristics of high-performing teams and their leadership in foreign language programs. Fifty-four college-level teachers, department…

The field of L2 pragmatics demonstrates the effect of instructional intervention on the development of L2 learners' pragmatic competence. Nevertheless, effective instruction requires knowledge of pragmatic performances of L2 learners in naturally occurring conversations, in comparison to those of the target community speakers. This study, using a…

We compared the performance of Hispanic students from California, Texas, and Arizona on the two Advanced Placement (AP) English exams (i.e., English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition) using archival data from the College Board from 1997 through 2012. Pearson chi-square tests yielded statistically significant…

Every year, California's community colleges identify hundreds of thousands of students as not ready for transfer-level courses in math and English. Since these courses are required to transfer to a four-year college, students deemed underprepared are placed in developmental (also known as remedial or basic-skills) courses to prepare for college…

This article will consider using TOEFL scores for purposes of placement and advising for international graduate students at a northern California research university. As the number of international students is on the rise and the funds for the graduate ESL program are diminishing, the way in which the university is handling the influx of…

Learners frequently experience phonologically inconsistent input, such as exposure to multiple accents. Yet, little is known about the consequences of phonological inconsistency for language learning. The current study examines vocabulary acquisition with different degrees of phonological inconsistency, ranging from no inconsistency (e.g., both…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether results on the English Early Assessment Program (EAP) examination predict college-level English success. Previous research indicates a relationship between EAP college-prepared status and academic achievement. The present study is unique, in that student-level community college English grades were…