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Differential Functioning of Reading Subskills on the OSSLT for L1 and ELL Students: A Multidimensionality Model‐Based DBF/DIF Approach
Author(s) -
Kim YounHee,
Jang Eunice Eunhee
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00527.x
Subject(s) - psychology , differential item functioning , literacy , curriculum , reading (process) , language proficiency , ell , mathematics education , vocabulary , context (archaeology) , item response theory , confirmatory factor analysis , test (biology) , item analysis , linguistics , pedagogy , teaching method , vocabulary development , developmental psychology , structural equation modeling , psychometrics , biology , paleontology , philosophy , statistics , mathematics
The increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in Canadian schools pose a significant challenge to the standards‐based provincial tests used to measure proficiency levels of all students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This study investigated the extent to which reading item bundles or items on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) function differentially for Grade 10 students who speak only or mostly English at home (first language [L1] students; n = 1,969) and those whose home language is something other than English (ELL students; n = 3,675). Based on Roussos and Stout's (1996a) multidimensionality‐based DIF analysis paradigm, a variety of substantive and statistical techniques were employed: (a) content review by English as a second language (ESL) experts, (b) exploratory and confirmatory dimensionality analyses, and (c) confirmatory differential bundle functioning (DBF)/differential item functioning (DIF) procedures. The evidence gathered in the study indicated that items associated with vocabulary knowledge favored L1 students, whereas items requiring grammatical knowledge or integrated reading and writing skill favored ELL students. Instructional implications for the promotion of effective literacy education programs are discussed, as is the development of a literacy curriculum that can meet the needs of linguistically diverse learners in a multilingual context.