Measuring the Language and Vocabulary Acquisition in Science of Latinx Students (MELVA-S)

Overview

The purpose of this grant is to develop an online formative assessment that measures the science vocabulary knowledge of Latinx bilingual students with different levels of English and Spanish language proficiencies in grades 2 and 3. The project will use speech recognition and automated scoring to score the measure and produce a preliminary report for teachers. Results of the assessment will be used to progress monitor students, help teachers differentiate language and vocabulary instruction in science, and provide additional science vocabulary supports. In this 4-year grant, the project will (a) develop the content of the assessment, (b) build the speech recognition system and automated scoring system, (c) develop a psychometric model that accurately estimates vocabulary item parameters and vocabulary abilities, and (d) conduct three validation studies.

More information is available on the Institute of Education Sciences website.

Participants

This project will work with more than 2,000 second- and third-grade Latinx students over the 4 years of the study.