Mr.
Justin R. Kelly has been a testing associate at Second Language Testing,
Inc. (SLTI) for three years. He has a BS in Spanish and Applied
Linguistics from UMBC and has obtained an MS and is pursuing a PhD in
Theoretical Linguistics from Georgetown University. One of Justin’s
primary capacities at SLTI has been in the area of language aptitude and
aptitude testing. He has worked extensively with a number of aptitude
tests, including the MLAT, the PLAB, and the DLAB, and has used his
knowledge of various grammatical systems to reverse-engineer a set of
test specifications for the MLAT and for the DLAB. Justin has then
written items, both for the MLAT and for the DLAB, based on the
specifications previously developed. He also participated in the
development of the computer-based MLAT, assuring that the constructs
assessed and the test conditions from the paper-and-pencil version of
the MLAT were fully considered and accounted for in the computer-based
version. Mr. Kelly has also participated in major projects involving linguistic simplification in large-scale testing. He was responsible for the linguistic simplification of test items in Reading, Math, and Science for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) while SLTI served as a consultant to the NAEP Educational Statistics Services Institute (NESSI) for quality assurance of NAEP. In addition, he participated in the development of an English-Language Arts test for ELLs in Delaware. Justin also serves as a project manager on test translation and test development projects, which includes the development of budgets and timelines for project completion, coordinating with contractors and clients to meet project deadlines to the required specifications, and writing project proposals and final reports.
Mr. Kelly’s primary research interests are in applying aspects of linguistic theory in the realm of language testing. His areas of specialization include lexical semantics, the syntax and semantics of tense and grammatical aspect, first-phase syntax, and the syntax-semantics interface.
Justin R. Kelly’s CV