Posted on 02/21/2007 3:06:38 PM PST by BUSHdude2000
A `really big step' for Spanish TAKS tests in Texas
More questions will be developed in students' native language
By JENNIFER RADCLIFFE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
To take the interactive version of last year's third-grade reading TAKS in Spanish or any other released TAKS test, visit www.tea.state.tx.us/ student.assessment/resources/release/ As nearly 50,000 students sit down this testing season to tackle the Spanish-language version of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge of Skills, they'll be answering a record number of questions developed in their native language.
That's a marked change for Texas' standardized test, which for a decade relied exclusively on so-called "transadapted" questions, items translated from English that are then tweaked to be linguistically and culturally appropriate for Spanish speakers. Testing began Tuesday in most schools.
Texas' effort to create questions specifically for the Spanish reading and math tests, rather than translate them from English, signifies an increasing sophistication in the state's test-development process that experts hope will more accurately capture the academic ability of Spanish-speaking students. Some of these uniquely developed questions appeared on the 2006 tests; even more will show up on this year's.
"It's a really big step, and it's an exciting step," said Laura Ayala, the Texas Education Agency's English-language-learner assessment director. "Sometimes what works in one language doesn't work in another language."
Test-taker comments About one in six of the state's 4.5 million students is classified as "limited English proficient." The Spanish TAKS is offered to some of these students in the third through sixth grades.
For students such as 9-year-old Juan Couso, a third-grader at SER-Niños Charter School, the Spanish on Tuesday's reading test still proved difficult. Juan, who didn't speak any English when he moved to Houston from Colombia three years ago, said the passages and questions were too long.
"The stories were a little difficult to understand," Juan said. "I was tired 'cause I was thinking too hard."
Before Texas started developing separate Spanish questions in 2005, educators only field-tested the English versions of the questions. There was no way to tell prior to official testing whether students were confused by the Spanish translations, academic leaders say.
Translating test questions is not a sound way to test Spanish-speaking students, experts say. They applaud Texas for starting to move away from that method.
"If you're going to develop a test for a particular population, it should be developed and normed on the language that population speaks," said Angela Valenzuela, an associate professor in education and Mexican-American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. "When it's not done that way, you really can't separate out linguistical errors from language errors."
About 75 percent of third-graders statewide passed the Spanish reading test, compared with the 90 percent who passed the English version. Spanish-speaking third-graders in the Houston school district beat the state average by 5 percentage points.
The difference in passing rates on the Spanish and English versions of the exam exposes a built-in bias, Valenzuela said.
"It really grossly misrepresents their abilities," she said. "We're doing a disservice to these children."
Valenzuela and other experts cite a plethora of problems with translating questions. The Spanish version of the test, they fear, ends up being tougher because of the range of vocabulary and the high numbers of synonyms in the language.
Translaton challenges A reading passage that's 400 words in English could end up being 600 words when it's translated into Spanish, they said. Testers are more likely to use formal or academic Spanish, with which many students may not be as familiar.
And certain figures of speech — like "raining cats and dogs" or "cost an arm and a leg" — just don't translate.
"This makes the comprehension and all the other questions harder for the students," said Patricia Karam, a bilingual kindergarten teacher at McWhirter Elementary in Clear Creek, who helps prepare older students for the Spanish TAKS."You can see they struggle because they don't understand."
And a concept such as "bobsledding" sometimes isn't familiar to students from the Rio Grande Valley or some Spanish-speaking countries, educators said. Test questions written by people familiar with the culture are more likely to incorporate concepts familiar to students.
"When you translate something from an English version, what's part of that English version is the entire American culture," said Leo Gomez, professor at the University of Texas at Pan American and former president of the Texas Association for Bilingual Educators.
Test questions developed by native Spanish speakers, however, are more likely to have an authentic feel and to engage Hispanic children. It will also be much easier to test concepts like including vocabulary and symbolism, Ayala said.
Irma Rohatgi, director of the Houston Independent School District's multilingual program, said she didn't receive any complaints from educators who administered the test to more than 8,000 students last year.
Rohatgi said she's impressed with the job the state does translating items, especially given the large number of obstacles that come with the territory.
"We're very aware of the transadapted test. That's always been a concern," she said. "That's a very difficult issue for TEA to handle."
jennifer.radcliffe@chron.com
An 'I'm so glad we can accomodate' Ping!
Texico Ping
This is discriminatory. Why isn't there a TAKS test in Vietnamese?
Good point, we have a large Vietnamese population in Houston. I'm so glad there is no need for assimilation in this country.
Hey what about the Germans? We're one of the largest ethnic groups! Oh, wait, that's right, we assimilated.
My point exactly
This is why they should be taught English.
"The difference in passing rates on the Spanish and English versions of the exam exposes a built-in bias, Valenzuela said."
NONSENSE. That is an anti-scientific and absurd statement.
Difference in passing rates could be 100% due to differences in capabilities.
Blogged on this here:
http://travismonitor.blogspot.com/2007/02/taks-test.html
You guys do have that hateful celebration called Wurstfest each year. How dare you...that could be seen as insensitive.
Mexas Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Que paso? Esta necessario?
Asians work hard, and study hard. They are not allowed to be minorities, as they don't buy into the "Victimization Proclimation".
Sophisticated? Aren't we uppity now.
I love this line. This real disservice is not teaching these kids (while they are young) to learn the language of the economy they will be competing in.
Yep. It's been said for eons that learning a language is easiest for children.
"And a concept such as "bobsledding" sometimes isn't familiar to students from the Rio Grande Valley or some Spanish-speaking countries, educators said."
Most white children in Texas don't know about *bobsleding*
"Test questions written by people familiar with the culture are more likely to incorporate concepts familiar to students."
Questions like; If Jose has ten lbs. of coke and shares 3 ozs. with Paco, how much coke will be left when they sneek across the border?
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