Abstract:
The IDEA Proficiency Tests (IPT) for Reading and Writing are designed to assess the reading and writing skills in English of children with other native languages. The IPT3 is for use in grades 7-12. The Reading Test has five sections that assess different domains: 1) Vocabulary, in which one of four words is chosen to describe a picture, 2) Vocabulary in Context, in which one of four words is chosen to complete a sentence, 3) Reading and Understanding, in which a prose passage is followed by related comprehension questions like those in Vocabulary in Context, 4) Reading for Life Skills, which has the same format as Reading and Understanding, but uses product labels as well as newspaper and magazine articles, and 5) Language Usage, which emphasizes grammar and punctuation. The Writing Test has three sections: 1) Conventions, in which a multiple-choice sentence completion task tests knowledge of writing conventions like capitalization, punctuation, and abbreviations, 2) Write a Story, in which the examinee writes a few sentences to describe a picture story, and 3) Write Your Own Story, in which the examinee writes a brief argumentative essay. Test time is approximately two hours altogether and the objective sections may be scored either using a template, or by machine. Writing samples are scored by examiners or test administrators using a set of rubrics, or samples from each scoring level accompanied by descriptive criteria. Writing Test Scorers must be trained by the publisher and two raters score each student's writing. When raters are in disagreement, a third rater intervenes. Scores of 1, 2, and 3 correspond to designations of "Non-English", "Limited English", and "Fluent/Competent English". Objective scores are grouped according to the same scale and these scores can be converted to standard scores, percentile ranks, and normal curve equivalents. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's Alpha at .90 for form 3A and .96 for form 3B. Cross-validation with the California Test of Basic Skills yields coefficients from .39 to .59. Norms were established on a sample of over 800 students. A version of the test which measures reading and writing in Spanish has been developed with the same format and separate norming studies.