BEST Plus and BEST Literacy - ppt download

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What are BEST Plus and BEST Literacy? BEST Plus and BEST Literacy Overview
Directors’ Training. Feb. 14, Columbia, SC.
BEST Plus and BEST Literacy Overview.
BEST Plus Test Administrators must complete and pass a six-hour training, led by a certified BEST trainer. They should then administer 10 practice tests and observe one experienced Test Administrator before giving a real test. Anyone who has not been approved as a test administrator by CAL (Center for Applied Linguistics) should not assess students using BEST Plus.
After BP initial training, the Director and the prospective Test Administrator will receive:
Newly approved BEST Plus Test Administrators must complete a Scoring Refresher training six weeks to three months after their initial training and show competency in scoring all three areas of the test. Thereafter, Test Administrators must attend a Scoring Refresher training annually and demonstrate scoring competency.
After each Refresher training, the Director and the approved Test Administrator will receive:
BEST Literacy may be administered with no formal training after the Test Administrator has reviewed and studied the BEST Literacy Test manual. CAL recommends that all Test Administrators (BEST Plus and BEST Literacy) have a strong command of the English language and be familiar with working with second language learners. And BEST Plus test administrators need to have an excellent command of the English language, have good hearing and be technologically competent (explain what this means).
Now to the Nuts and Bolts of BEST Plus
What is the content of BEST Plus How is BEST Plus scored What do we know about the reliability and validity of BEST Plus How is BEST Plus used
a performance-based assessment (an individually administered face-to-face oral interview) that assesses functional oral language skills (interpersonal communication) of adult English language learners and is designed with current assessment needs in mind.
Respond to the assessment and accountability needs of adult ESL programs. Produce a test that is short and practical. Assess learner language for a variety of purposes and stakeholders. Increase accuracy in measuring oral language proficiency. Provide multiple forms for pretesting and post testing.
Measurement is based on Item Response Theory (IRT). All questions assess listening and speaking ability on the same underlying measurement scale. Multiple scores are awarded for each question. IRT ensures that results of pretests and post tests are comparable.
Currently, the item pool contains 256 questions. The item pool is large enough that examinees are administered different sets of questions with each assessment. The ability to memorize test questions is minimized. BEST Plus can be used for pretesting and post testing. (No forms )
Test items for the test administrator to ask appear on the computer screen. If a test item requires a picture, examinees view the picture on the computer screen. Test administrators enter scores directly into the computer.
Advanced level test question.
These topics are representative of the ones covered in the ESL Scope and Sequence of Skills. Content: 13 specific domains. nested in three general domains. Personal. Occupational. Public. Personal identification. Health. Family/Parenting. Consumerism. Housing. Recreation/ Entertainment. Getting a job. On the job. Civics. Community services. Transportation/ Directions. Weather/Seasons. Education. ESL Scope and Sequence of Skills.
The test administrator uses the BEST Plus Scoring Rubric to guide scoring decisions. The examinee’s response to each item is scored on three aspects of language: Listening Comprehension. Language Complexity. Communication.
Listening Comprehension: How well did the examinee understand the setup and question Language Complexity: How did the examinee organize and elaborate the response Communication: How clearly did the examinee communicate meaning
Following fixed warm-up questions, examinees are asked questions drawn from several thematically based folders. The test administrator scores each question after the examinee responds. After each set of scores is entered, the computer updates its estimate of the examinee’s ability and chooses folders and questions as appropriate. The test gives the minimum number of items to ascertain an examinee’s proficiency level. Users can immediately receive a complete score report.
Rigorous development procedures. Feasibility study ( ) Initial development ( ) Pilot, small-scale field test, initial reliability study (2001) Revisions ( ) Pilot, full-scale field test, reliability study, standard- setting study (2002) Finalization of training materials, ancillary materials, further refinements ( ) Field test for test update ( )
Oversight from U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) Technical Working Group (TWG), comprised of researchers, state directors, and local program directors and practitioners. Item writers, comprised of experienced adult ESL teaching professionals. Instructors and students in the field.
Eight states (DE, FL, IL, MA, MD, OR, PA, VA) and the District of Columbia. 23 programs. 40 test administrators. 2,420 examinees.
Test Administrator (project staff member) Observer/Co-Scorer (project staff member) Observer/Co-Scorer (novice scorer) Each student was tested in Room A or B, then immediately retested in the other room.
Between two test administrations. (different rooms) .89.
Within one administration. (same room) Room A. (3 raters) Room B
After each question, the computer program underlying BEST Plus estimates the examinee’s ability based on scores awarded on the current and all previous questions. With each estimation, the accuracy of the measurement increases. Goal: To level off in estimation with an acceptable level of accuracy.
Information includes. BEST Plus scale score. Student Performance Level (SPL) Diagnostic information.
BEST Plus and NRS Functioning Levels. NRS Level Descriptor. Scaled Score. Beginning ESL Literacy. 400 and below. Low Beginning ESL High Beginning ESL Low Intermediate ESL High Intermediate ESL Advanced ESL
BEST Plus allows programs to assess the everyday listening and speaking skills of English language learners for a variety of purposes: To determine placement into a program. To track progress. To provide feedback to learners and teachers to improve instruction. To evaluate program effectiveness. To report outcomes (e.g., pretesting and post testing to meet NRS requirements).
For detailed information on this topic, please refer to the Score Management Software User Guide located in the BP Test Administrator Guide. BEST Plus Score Management. The Score Management Software program provides users with the ability to manage data contained within the BEST Plus Scores Database. Features include. Importing and exporting student data. Backing up the scores database. Producing a complete score report for the print-based version of the test. Purchasing more test administrations.
May be administered without a computer; useful for sites without computer access or in the event of a computer malfunction. However, a computer is necessary to determine a scaled score for an individual student. To get a scaled score for the print based version, the test administrator must access the Print-based scoring tab on the BEST Plus testing CD. They must then input scores from each test item to get a scaled score.
The test administrator administers and scores the locator test (fixed warm-up items and two high-end discriminators). Examinees answer questions from the appropriate level test based on the chart in the examinee test booklet. The test administrator totals the raw scores and finds the approximate SPL range. The raw scores are entered into the computer via the BEST Plus Score Management Software to obtain a complete score report.
Test. Three forms. Within each form: locator test + three level tests. Materials. Picture cue book. Examinee test booklet (scripts and score sheet combined) Pass out examples.
BEST Literacy. Also aligns with the ESL Scope and Sequence of Skills. BEST Literacy assesses a student’s English reading and writing skills. Life skills based. BEST Literacy may be administered to a group or to an individual. Again, no formal training is required to administer this test; Test Administrator must study the BEST Literacy training manual to learn to score this test.
Should (generally) only be administered to students with oral proficiency (on BEST Plus) of Level 3 or higher. Takes 60 minutes to complete. Must be hand-scored.
Use to assess reading and writing instruction in the ESL classroom. Use as a method to show reading and writing progress in ESL students. Use with students who test at Level 7 or higher on BEST Plus to retain them as ESL students. Aligns with instruction in the ESL classroom better than TABE.
Students must attend a MINIMUM of 60 hours before post-testing (different than the 40 hour requirement in ABE) Pre- and post-test must use the same assessment (either BEST Plus OR BEST Literacy)
1. BEST Plus. If Level 7 or above (OR as an alternative assessment), then….. 2. BEST Literacy. If Level 7 or above, then….. 3. TABE. Student now classified as ABE student.
1.Choose or enter a student and then click Assessments 2. Click Add New
To input BEST Literacy Scores: 1. Click BEST Literacy. 2. Select a form (B,C, or D) 3. Click (not applicable) When the Continue button becomes active, click Continue
1.Input scores and date. 2. Click save
You must purchase tests directly from CAL (see sample order form). These tests are added to your program’s virtual bank. Approved Test Administrators are given a unique username and password to access the bank. Tests are activated in groups of 20. Tests are connected to the computer on which they are activated. BEST Plus tests cost approximately $1.50/test (depending on quantity ordered). Print-based tests are the same price and use one banked test (the same as a Computer Adaptive test).
To order BEST Literacy tests, you also must order directly from CAL (see sample order form). Each test includes a consumable test booklet and answer form. Tests cost about $2.50/test.
Online Orders. For expedited and credit card orders, go to:
Monica Rodriguez Region 2. Karen Hodges Region 3. Rebecca Carter Region 4. Jan Camp Region 5. Wendy Griffin
Write: Center for Applied Linguistics Attn: BEST Plus th Street, NW Washington, DC Visit the Web site:
Center for Applied Linguistics ( SC Adult Education Assessment Policy Manual. BEST Plus Test Administrators Guide.