PROVIDING EQUAL ACCESS TO ENGLISH LEARNERS IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Doctoral Candidate Name: Tuba Gezer
Program: Educational Leadership
Defense Date and Time: August 18, 2021 – 10:00 PM
Defense Location: Zoom
Committee chair’s Name: Dr. Claudia Flowers
Committee Members: Dr. Richard Lambert, Dr. Stella Kim & Dr. Valerie Mazzotti
Abstract:

This three-article format dissertation examined fairness in testing English Learners (EL) in K-12 schools in the United States (US). In the first article, a meta-analysis was conducted to summarize EL computer-based testing (CBT) accommodations research on the validity and effectiveness of accommodations. Eight studies out of 292 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated that CBT accommodations did not influence non-EL test scores. There was a small and statistically significant (.12 SD) improvement in EL test scores for EL students with CBT accommodations. The second article focused on predictors of postschool outcomes (PSO) for EL students with disabilities. Data from NLTS-2 was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of predictor factors, which included adaptive behavior, parent expectations, and transition services, on PSO. The results suggested that transition planning totally mediated the effects of adaptive behaviors and parent expectations on PSO. The third article used EL large-scale assessment data to investigate measurement invariance (MI) and prediction invariance (PI) across ethnicity and years in the US schools. A multigroup structural equation model was used to simultaneously examine MI and PI. The results suggested MI and PI were retained between Hispanic and non-Hispanic EL students in 3rd and 8th grades, but there was a partial weak MI between Hispanic and non-Hispanic in 10th grade. Although there was MI and PI for 3rd grade across the years in the US schools, only partial measurement invariance was attained for 8th and 10th graders. These results suggest test scores may not be comparable for EL students in the US three years or less and those EL students in the US more than three years. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.