Content and Bias Review, May 21-23, 2007

Participant Tara Schiffelbein, Tulsa, OK

The spring 2007 item review led by our partners at the Center for Applied Linguistics was a success! Participants, primarily consisting of K-12 teachers, reviewed assessment items for grades 1-12 which were written during the latest item-writing course. WIDA appreciated the unique strengths of each participant in pointing out potential content or bias concerns in each series of test questions. As a result, the items were improved in every area from grammar to graphics. They will now be subjected to field testing.

Participant Naseem A Umar, Chicago, IL

Three State Educational Agency (SEA) representatives participated in these meetings held in Philadelphia May 21-23: Maureen Keithley from Kentucky, Harriette Herrera from Illinois, and Brian Johnson from Wisconsin. SEA representatives Raquel Sinai of New Jersey and Barbara Mowrey of Pennsylvania each delivered a welcome message to participants.

Brian Johnson of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and participant Enchi Chen from Maine listen to the discussion about assessment items

Excerpts from the Checklist for Content & Bias used at the meeting:

Is the language of the item clear, simple, and "natural sounding" to the reader?

Is the content accurate?

Are items testing language proficiency rather than content knowledge?

Are test items equally accessible to all students, regardless of subgroup membership?

Do the test items portray subgroups in a variety of roles and occupations?

Are graphs and charts simple, clear and legible?

Are graphics appropriate for grade level in terms of topic, complexity and style?

Are people, buildings/settings, etc. drawn to represent a diversity of subgroups (ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disabilities, etc.)?

Are color differences visible in the black and white copies to insure that color blind students can differentiate between shades?