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SLRF 2010 Slide 1Oct 16, 2010
What is the construct in task-basedlanguage assessment?
Robert J. MislevyProfessor, Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation
Affiliated Professor, Second Language AcquisitionUniversity of Maryland, College Park
Presented in the invited colloquium “Reprising the role of tasks in language assessment” organized by John Norris and Steven Ross at the Second Language Research Forum
2010, October 14-17, 2010, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.
SLRF 2010 Slide 2Oct 16, 2010
What is the construct? Bachman 2005 LTRC plenary address:
» What is the construct? The dialectic of abilities and contexts in defining constructs in language assessment.
Challenges from a sociocognitive perspective (Atkinson, 2002; Chalhoub-Deville, 2003)
» Interplay of extrapersonal and intrapersonal patterns.
» Capabilities as resources to construct and act through relevant patterns in meaningful situations.
Challenges in task-based language testing» Many patterns at many levels; interaction; evolving
SLRF 2010 Slide 3Oct 16, 2010
[I]t seems to me that the critical issue is how we define the construct to be assessed — as ability or as task.
Bachman, 2007, p. 71.
SLRF 2010 Slide 4Oct 16, 2010
[T]he construct of interest in task-based assessment is performance of the task itself.
Long & Norris, 2000, p. 600.
SLRF 2010 Slide 5Oct 16, 2010
The final form of a sentence in ordinary conversation [has] to be understood as an interactional product.
Schegloff, 1995, p.192.
To adapt a social view of performance… is at some level incompatible with taking the traditional view of performance as a simple projection or display of individual competence.
Macnamara & Roever, 2006, p. 46.
Is the construct co-constructed by all of the participants in the discursive practice ?
Bachman, 2007
Is the construct co-constructed by all of the participants in the discursive practice ?
Bachman, 2007
SLRF 2010 Slide 6Oct 16, 2010
The ability components the language user brings to the situation … interact with situational facets to change those facets as well as to be changed by them.
[The construct is] “ability – in language user – in context.”Chalhoub-Deville, 2003, p. 372.
Is the construct is strictly local?Bachman, 2007
Is the construct is strictly local?Bachman, 2007
SLRF 2010 Slide 7Oct 16, 2010
My Objective
Propose an consistent sense of “construct” for assessment, including language testing.
Ground it in …» a sociocognitive perspective and
» the structure of assessment design and use arguments.
Show how it …» encompasses most of the senses of construct in
Bachman’s analysis,
» helps answer the problematic questions about constructs.
SLRF 2010 Slide 8Oct 16, 2010
The Situative StanceAffordances and abilities … are … inherently relational.
An affordance relates attributes of something in the environment to an interactive activity by an agent who has some ability, and an ability relates attributes of an agent to an interactive activity with something in the environment that has some affordance. …
It does not go far enough to say that an ability depends on the context of environmental characteristics, or that an affordance depends on the context of an agent's characteristics.
The concepts are codefining... Greeno, 1994, p. 338.
SLRF 2010 Slide 9Oct 16, 2010
The assessment [design] argument(Messick, 1994)
What complex of knowledge, skills, or other attributes should be assessed?
What behaviors or performances should reveal those constructs?
What tasks or situations should elicit those behaviors?
SLRF 2010 Slide 10Oct 16, 2010
Toulmin’s Argument
Claim
Backing
unless
sinceWarrant
Alternativeexplanationso
Data
Structure
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Macro features of performance
Micro features of performance
Unfolding situated performance
Micro features of situation as it
evolves
Macro features of situation
Time
Features of context arise over time as student acts / interacts.
Features of context arise over time as student acts / interacts.
Features of performance evaluated in light of emerging context.
Features of performance evaluated in light of emerging context.
Especially important in interactive and extended performance contexts
Especially important in interactive and extended performance contexts
Bachman / Macnamara / Chalhoub-Deville consider: Is the construct … co-constructed by all of the participants?Me: The activity and its meaning are co-constructed, but the assessment construct is the examinee’s capability to act in ways that productively contribute the construction.
Bachman / Macnamara / Chalhoub-Deville consider: Is the construct … co-constructed by all of the participants?Me: The activity and its meaning are co-constructed, but the assessment construct is the examinee’s capability to act in ways that productively contribute the construction.
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Concerns features of (possibly evolving) context as seen from the view of the assessor – in particular, those seen as relevant to targets of inference:•Important because of task qua task?•Import as opportunities to exhibit pattern attunement in context?•Where do they match / mismatch features of use situations?
Concerns features of (possibly evolving) context as seen from the view of the assessor – in particular, those seen as relevant to targets of inference:•Important because of task qua task?•Import as opportunities to exhibit pattern attunement in context?•Where do they match / mismatch features of use situations?
Evaluation of performance concerns clues that suggest attunement to features of cultural / linguistic models of interest:•Aspects of success in task?•Aspects of broader L/C/S models?
Evaluation of performance concerns clues that suggest attunement to features of cultural / linguistic models of interest:•Aspects of success in task?•Aspects of broader L/C/S models?
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Design Argument
…Dp1
OI1
A1
Ds1Dp1 Dp1
OI2
A2
Ds2Dp2 Dp1
OIn
An
DsnDpn
Claim about student
Multiple tasks: What do they have in common / i.e., sampling from what domain?
Multiple tasks: What do they have in common / i.e., sampling from what domain?
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
(Bachman)
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Actions in assessment situations and use situations are always understood through an interactionalist / sociocognitive lens.
Actions in assessment situations and use situations are always understood through an interactionalist / sociocognitive lens.
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Claim about student phrased in terms of score(s) on some variable(s) – conduit from assessment observations to use situations
Claim about student phrased in terms of score(s) on some variable(s) – conduit from assessment observations to use situations
The values that the variable(s) can take induce a simplified view of some aspects of peoples’ capabilities from some perspective. The analyst’s interpretation, backed up by a compatible operationalization, is the construct the assessment seeks to measure.
The values that the variable(s) can take induce a simplified view of some aspects of peoples’ capabilities from some perspective. The analyst’s interpretation, backed up by a compatible operationalization, is the construct the assessment seeks to measure.
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
Claim about student
Claim about student in use situation
This is inherently a statement about the capabilities or propensities of the examinee.Its nature and situated meaning depend on …•Design choices about the features of the situation and•Features of performance to evaluate; and•Choice about the set of task situations; and •The relationship of task situations to use situations.
This is inherently a statement about the capabilities or propensities of the examinee.Its nature and situated meaning depend on …•Design choices about the features of the situation and•Features of performance to evaluate; and•Choice about the set of task situations; and •The relationship of task situations to use situations.
Bachman asks: Construct defined in terms of abilities or tasks?Me: The assessment construct is always about examinees’ capabilities, but can be organized around traits or capabilities to perform in various senses in task situations.
Bachman asks: Construct defined in terms of abilities or tasks?Me: The assessment construct is always about examinees’ capabilities, but can be organized around traits or capabilities to perform in various senses in task situations.
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
Claim about student
Claim about student in use situation
Trait-based testing•From situative p.o.v., there many situations with similar affordances, amenable to similar capabilities [“invariant”? Me: too strong]•Trait-based construct presumes stability of certain level/kind of pattern use & capabilities across such situations.•Situation features designed to evoke evidence of traits as conceived.•Correspondence to features of use situation not critical.•Performance features identified as evidence of traits.•Can be wide variety of use situations, meant to require traits.
Trait-based testing•From situative p.o.v., there many situations with similar affordances, amenable to similar capabilities [“invariant”? Me: too strong]•Trait-based construct presumes stability of certain level/kind of pattern use & capabilities across such situations.•Situation features designed to evoke evidence of traits as conceived.•Correspondence to features of use situation not critical.•Performance features identified as evidence of traits.•Can be wide variety of use situations, meant to require traits.
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
Claim about student
Claim about student in use situation
Task-based testing I: Focus on competences in performance •Task features designed to evoke evidence of traits as conceived, in the context of valued real-world use tasks.•Can be language centric, but also pragmatic, sociolinguistic.•Correspondence to selected features of use situation important.•Performance features identified as evidence of traits.•Can be wide variety of use situations, meant to require traits.•Construct allows more context dependence of pattern use & capabilities.
Task-based testing I: Focus on competences in performance •Task features designed to evoke evidence of traits as conceived, in the context of valued real-world use tasks.•Can be language centric, but also pragmatic, sociolinguistic.•Correspondence to selected features of use situation important.•Performance features identified as evidence of traits.•Can be wide variety of use situations, meant to require traits.•Construct allows more context dependence of pattern use & capabilities.
Claim about student in use situation
Other information concerning student vis a
vis use situation
Warrant concerning use situation since
on account of
Alternative explanations
unless
Design Argument
Use Argument
Data concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
on account of
Backing concerning assessment situation
Alternative explanations
unless
Warrantconcerning assessment
since
Warrant concerning evaluation since
Warrant concerning task design since
Other information concerning student vis a vis
assessment situation
so
Claim about student
Data concerning student
performance
Data concerning task situation
Backing concerning use situation
Student acting inassessment situation
Claim about student
Claim about student in use situation
Task-based testing II: Focus on aspects of performance •Task features designed to reflect features of important real-world tasks.•Correspondence to selected features of use situation important.•Performance features identified as evidence of capabilities to act effectively in use situations.•Assessment construct: capability to perform in corresponding ways in corresponding real-world situations.
Task-based testing II: Focus on aspects of performance •Task features designed to reflect features of important real-world tasks.•Correspondence to selected features of use situation important.•Performance features identified as evidence of capabilities to act effectively in use situations.•Assessment construct: capability to perform in corresponding ways in corresponding real-world situations.
Long & Norris propose: Construct is task performance?Me: Task performance is of central interest, but assessment argument construct is capability for targeted aspects of task performance, as observed in task and inferred to use situations.
Long & Norris propose: Construct is task performance?Me: Task performance is of central interest, but assessment argument construct is capability for targeted aspects of task performance, as observed in task and inferred to use situations.
Bachman, Chalhoub-Deville consider: Is the construct … strictly local?Me: The creation of performance is strictly local in every instance, but the construct is capability of doing such -- stability / variability across situations is an empirical question.
Bachman, Chalhoub-Deville consider: Is the construct … strictly local?Me: The creation of performance is strictly local in every instance, but the construct is capability of doing such -- stability / variability across situations is an empirical question.
SLRF 2010 Slide 22Oct 16, 2010
Conclusion I
Q: What is the construct?
A: What do you want it to be?In any given application, the assessment-argument construct concerns capabilities of the individual (as opposed to abilities or traits).
It is operationalized by choices wrt assessment design and intended inferences, which can be grounded in a SC perspective of capabilities, made explicit in argument framework, and embodied in the elements and processes of the assessment machinery.
SLRF 2010 Slide 23Oct 16, 2010
Conclusion IIQ: Where is the construct?
A: The construct is a frame in the analyst’s cognition: to recognize, make sense, and reason from patterns and regularities in peoples’ behaviors in unique situations.
The regularities arise from the way people and situations work in the real world, through the interplay of extrapersonal and intrapersonal patterns.
Within this frame, we summarize the ways or extents examinees act in assessment situations that we (in part) shape and decide how to characterize in accordance with the frame. We use this synthesis to reason about use situations.