english

This is the feedback I wrote:

don't forget to always cite the source where you learned the information you are writing about. Somewhere in the beginning of the paper, you could write something like: All information describing CASAS was taken from <webite>. 

What are the possible consequences of not having strict time limits for students to take the test?

You mentioned that the test has content and construct validity, but you did not really prove that statement. Why do you think it has content validity? What items in the test actually mirror real-life performance for these test takers?

When you discuss that the test results match with the TLU domain, it would have been helpful to describe some test items and why you think they match the TLU domain.

You stated that the test doesn't effectively set students up for incorporation into English academic skills... what exactly do you mean? Provide some examples why you think that is the case.

What do you mean when you say the questions do not call for conclusion or assessment?

What do you think of the reliability reported? Is it good enough for standardized tests? You should be able to find that information in the 6220 books or our book.

Explain more about why the single type of format is biased...

It would be useful to provide some sample items and analyze them in terms of what we learned about multiple choice items. 

Are there any research studies on CASAS? Try to find some and include their findings here.

You were expected to use a minimum of five sources in your paper (research articles, textbooks, etc.) to support your ideas. Please include some. For example, when you talk about validity or reliability, provide a textbook definition of the terms. Some of the sources in your reference list do not show up in the essay. Anything in your reference list has to be in the text as a citation.

Critical Analysis of a Large-Scale ESL Assessment: CASAS Assessment

Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems(CASAS) used to be known In the early 1980’s, the California Adult Student Assessment System. CASAS was initiated to create curriculum and testing materials to assess an exclusive group of students. CASAS tests are used throughout the US to assess adult ESL students' basic skills in a broad variety of workforce and academic programs. It is a nonprofit organization. It provides standardized assessments and other tools needed to collect and report student information and learning progress. With the CASAS system, establishments and agencies can create and assessable goals, place learners into suitable instructional levels, document student improvement and outcome, and account the program accomplishments to learners, employees, local boards, and policymakers while meeting the requirements of the WIA Title II program. CASAS is considered to be the most broadly used competency-based assessment method in the US intended to evaluate the applicable real-world necessary skills of adult ESL students. CASAS assesses the basic language skills and literacy skills needed to function effectively at work and in life.

Competency which is the measurable learning objective written in a functional life skills context. CASAS tests are aligned to the competencies, along with Task Area, and Content Standards these three create the groundwork for the CASAS curriculum. Separately, they provide life skills contexts, a variety of visual prompts, and the underlying basic literacy skills that together work as the ladder to successful attainment of the curriculum objectives.

ESL students are normally placed in the class by interest area (ESL, EL Civics, Transitions) and skill level in the English language. CASAS Testing process includes students register then they take an appraisal followed by a CASAS pretest. The goal of the Appraisal Process is to determine ESL learners readiness for a course. At the time of registration to the program, students should be given an appraisal to determine their English language skill and literacy level and instructional level for the student to identify the correct CASAS pretest level.

Diagnose is through the pretest which is given upon entry into the program. “Pretest” denotes the first CASAS test administered to students after an appraisal. The pretest measures what students know at the start of the class. The results of the pretest help teachers decide the learning requirements of the students and help guide the teacher in setting up the instruction.

The post-test measures what the student knows after completing a significant number of hours in class. These assessment outcomes assist teachers to check the improvement of the ESL student is making during class. Each student takes a minimum of two CASAS tests while enrolled in the programs a pretest and a post-test, an additional post-tests may be administered throughout the program to continue to monitor progress. For pre- and post-testing in the reading skill, most ESL programs use the Life and Work Series. Some programs use the Employability Competency Series (ECS) to test reading if the students are focusing on job skills. If a reading pretest and post-test must be administered from the same reading series.

For Pre- and post-tests students are allowed about 45 minutes to one hour. The tests are not strictly timed. Students are also allowed the same amount of time for pre and post-tests. If students are not able to complete the test within the hour, the teacher can give the test takers a few extra minutes to finish answering the question they are working on. But they are not allowed to “finish” the test at another time. In the appraisals CASAS there are 20-25 test questions depending on which one is administered. The questions are extensively spread along the CASAS scale. They range from very easy questions to somewhat difficult questions. In the pre/post-tests it can range from 25 – 35 test questions, which are clustered at a specific skill level, and includes low-high difficulty questions within a specific variety.

CASAS descriptions for the reading skill assessment includes the beginning Literacy test (Pre-Beginning) that consists of 30 questions, Level A (Beginning) that consists of 24 questions, Level B (Beginning-Intermediate-Basic) that consists of 32 questions, and Level C (Advanced Basic) that consists of 38 questions. Level D (Adult Secondary) consists of 40 questions. CASAS reading tests is the only assessment being approved for NRS reporting in the Adult Basic Education programs and English As Second Language programs. CASAS has over 180 tests for a selection of purposes. All are a standardized assessment tool that has undergone careful statistical measures to guarantee a reliable and valid outcome. CASAS employ item response theory (IRT) into the construction of its item bank and associated tests.

After reading about CASAS pretest, I came to understand that it has to be given to the ESL adult student as soon as possible, and no later than 12 hours of instructions. Which sets the baseline score and level for the students of the year by waiting until after the significant amount of instruction takes place, which makes it harder for the students to show any improvement or gains. Because students pretest once a year, they might not be designated to test during a different class pretesting session. CASAS test that is given to students are not created equal, and there is no default test.

CASAS assessment qualities, the first quality is validity, the CASAS assessment includes content representative which means the test items correspond highly with the test domain, construct / theory-based validity, and criterion-related validity. These assessments are intended to determine student language abilities based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s SCANS competencies. We can see that a lot of hard work is put down by the test developers to straightforwardly stand for the necessary competencies on a test. The results of a test with construct validity allow administrators to depict conclusions about ESL students' language abilities to achieve in a context outside the test environment. CASAS test results match with the Target Language Use (TLU) Domain. On the other hand, some areas in the test tasks may not match up with the TLU Domain, due to the multiple-choice nature of the exam, it is irregularly challenging to simulate a real-life situation.

The CASAS test range is relatively slim, and that is due to the limited number of questions on the test. The questions included in the test do not call for conclusion or assessment. The CASAS test doesn't effectively set students up for incorporation into English academic skills. Reliability of the CASAS test was reported by Stiles (1984) the internal consistency range from .80 to .90. to tackle this point the test developers created CASAS item curve that connects with the test curve. High–Low reports helped with the analysis of item distracters, calibration, rewriting of items, or elimination of test items.

CASAS test very strongly reflects the absence of bias, since the CASAS tests are free of any reference to race, sexual orientation, gender, or ethnicity; there is a small threat of stereotyping population sub-grouping. CASAS practicality levels are high in the sense of the type of answer format for CASA which is the multiple-choice which provides great ease of scoring the test. This single type of format is biased against sub-grouping that execute better. If the test includes different types of testing format such as essay questions, short-answers, or fill-in-the-blank questions, then a wider variety of answering types could capitulate more useful examination about The ESL students' performance. The major problem recline in the seeming test lack of reliability if the test is not administered in a regular mode. The CASAS exams show inconsistency in test administration which makes us question the aspects of reliability of the test. At the same time, CASAS administrators do not allow cheating, help students answer questions, or review the test after they finish.

To conclude the CASAS Life Skills Reading assessment provides a significant evaluation tool for adult ESL learners programs. We could say that it is one of the best adult assessment system on the US market. The CASAS test policymakers need to issue information of the studies about the construct validity, reliability of test scores, test bias, access, and administration guidebook.

References

Brantmeier, C. (2003). Does gender make a difference? Passage content and comprehension in second language reading. Reading in a foreign language, 15(1), 1.

CASAS (2017). Handbook for ESL/ELL Teachers Focus on WIOA Title II Accountability An Interactive Resource Guide for New and Experienced Teachers. California Edition. Retrieved from https://www.casas.org/docs/default-source/CAAcct/casas-esl-handbooks-for-teachers.pdf?sfvrsn=16?Status=Master.

CASAS (2015). What is CASAS?. Retrieved from https://www.casas.org/docs/pagecontents/whatiscasas.pdf

Gorman, D., & Ernst, M. L. (2004). Test review: The comprehensive adult student assessment system (CASAS) life skills reading tests. Language Assessment Quarterly: An International Journal, 1(1), 73-84.

Saxby, L. Ways to prepare for the CASA reading exam. Retrieved from https://www.usi.edu/media/2672020/Ways-to-Prepare-for-CASA-Reading.pdf