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Test Development
     

A major part of SLTI’s work is the development of foreign or second language proficiency tests for agencies of the federal or state governments or for larger testing companies who desire to offer such tests to their clients. SLTI develops customized instruments tailored to the client's needs. SLTI can also assist clients who are involved in test development projects.  Second language proficiency tests may assess one or more of four communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading, or writing. These skills are interrelated, but are nonetheless distinct. If you need more information or would like to discuss the possible development of a second language proficiency test by SLTI, please contact Dr. Charles Stansfield at 301-231-6046 or Cstansfield@2LTI.com.


National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Since 2005, SLTI has reviewed NAEP Reading, Mathematics, and Science items prepared by other test development contractors. From 2005 to 2007, SLTI was a subcontractor to the NAEP Educational Statistical Services Institute (NESSI). We started working directly with Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 2008. As a NESSI subcontractor, SLTI prepared several short reports on a variety of issues relevant to the NAEP assessments. These included reports on universal design principles, the use of plain English and clear language, principles of good item writing, and style and presentation issues in computer-based testing. SLTI also developed a NAEP Style Guide for test developers and test development contractors. Additionally, SLTI provided staffing support to NESSI and the National Center for Educational Statistics at NAEP test development committee meetings. SLTI also translated NAEP publications to Spanish for delivery in Puerto Rico. These included a report on the results of the 2003 and 2005 NAEP Mathematics assessments conducted in Puerto Rico. Today, SLTI is a member of the NAEP translation team, which means that we translate (or review the translation of) all NAEP materials, reports, and documents that will be translated to Spanish.


National Geographic Educational Publishing
NGEP publishes a series of readers for ELLs and other students reading below grade level. In 2007-2008, SLTI developed two parallel forms of placement tests and exit tests for the series under contract with NGEP. Following field testing, SLTI also contributed sections to the test’s technical manual.

English for Academic Purposes
Since 2007, SLTI has assisted a European test development company in its efforts to develop and field-test a new English for Academic Purposes (EAP) test tied to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). SLTI has been involved in the item development, item review, scoring, and ancillary document creation stages for this new test.

LAS Links Spanish
SLTI developed the LAS Links Spanish for CTB/McGraw-Hill. The LAS Links Spanish was developed as a parallel version of the LAS Links English and is intended to measure the Spanish language proficiency of Spanish-speaking students in grades K-12. The LAS Links Spanish assesses students’ Spanish language proficiency in four domains (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), and across five grade-level spans (K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12). SLTI also drafted the technical manual for the LAS Links Spanish. Both measures were approved for use in Texas by the language proficiency test review committee of the Texas Education Agency.

Delaware Department of Education
SLTI developed, field-tested, and validated the Delaware ’s English Language Learners Assessment (DELLA) for the Delaware Department of Education. The DELLA is an alternate assessment of English language arts for English language learners for grades 3, 5, 8, and 10.

GED Testing Service 
SLTI developed multiple forms of a test of reading proficiency in English as a second language for the GED Testing service.

Listening Summary Translation Exams (LSTE)Between 2001 and 2006, SLTI developed, field-tested, equated and validated a series of Listening Summary Translation Exams in Arabic (Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian, Algerian, and Yemeni) for the FBI. 

Federal Court Interpreter Certification Exam
Since 2001, SLTI has developed the Written Examination portion of the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Exam for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.  This Written Examination is a 160-item screening test that is the first phase of a two-phase examination battery for federal court interpreters.  Those who pass the test take a live interpreting performance exam.  SLTI works with the top court interpreters in the country during the development, field-testing, and equating of each new set of test forms.

Defense Language Proficiency Test-Version 5 (DLPT-V)
Since 2007, SLTI consultants have conducted crucial outside item reviews for the DLPT-V, a high stakes test language proficiency test produced by the Defense Language Institute (DLI) for use by the U.S. Department of Defense. SLTI provides reviewers and coordinates the review of items for 24 languages, including Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Kurdish, Farsi, and Modern Standard Arabic. The DLPT-V consists of multiple-choice, listening and reading comprehension items, depending on the test. For some uncommonly taught languages, a constructed response format is used instead of the standard multiple-choice format. Test items and scores are based on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) skill level descriptions. For more information on the DLI and DLPT-V, click here.

National Language Service Corps—Reading Proficiency Interview
Between December 2008 and March 2009, SLTI developed the reading proficiency interview (RPI), a new testing method, to address the rapid test development needs in small-population languages. SLTI initially developed a Marshallese RPI for the National Language Service Corps (NLSC). The RPI measures how well a candidate reads in a language by asking a series of reading comprehension questions about two reading passages selected from a passage bank. The RPI reports a candidate’s reading proficiency on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. The key benefits of the RPI are that test development and tester training can be completed in approximately six weeks and that the test can be administered over the telephone or face-to-face.