TY - JOUR
T1 - Measurement Invariance in Relation to First Language
T2 - An Evaluation of German Reading and Spelling Tests
AU - Visser, Linda
AU - Cartschau, Friederike
AU - von Goldammer, Ariane
AU - Brandenburg, Janin
AU - Timmerman, Marieke
AU - Hasselhorn, Marcus
AU - Mähler, Claudia
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under Grant number 01GJ1601B. We would like to thank the children and their parents for participating in the two studies. Also, we would like to thank our collaborators in the online study (Prof. Schulte-Körne, Dr. Julia Kalmar, Dr. Ruth Görgen, Dr. Josefine Rothe from the Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich and Dr. Katharina Grunwald and Dr. Janosch Linkersdörfer from the DIPF in Frankfurt) as well as our colleagues from the iLearn study (Dr. Alexandra Schmitterer und Prof. Garvin Brod) for realizing the studies and for allowing us to use the data for the current paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The growing number of children in primary schools in Germany who have German as their second language (L2) has raised questions about the fairness of performance assessment. Fair tests are a prerequisite for distinguishing between L2 learning delay and a specific learning disability. We evaluated five commonly used reading and spelling tests for measurement invariance (MI) as a function of first language (German vs. other). Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed strict MI for the Weingarten Basic Vocabulary Spelling Tests (WRTs) 3+ and 4+ and the Salzburger Reading (SLT) and Spelling (SRT) Tests, suggesting these instruments are suitable for assessing reading and spelling skills regardless of first language. The MI for A Reading Comprehension Test for First to Seventh Graders–2nd Edition (ELFE II) was partly strict with unequal intercepts for the text subscale. We discuss the implications of this finding for assessing reading performance of children with L2.
AB - The growing number of children in primary schools in Germany who have German as their second language (L2) has raised questions about the fairness of performance assessment. Fair tests are a prerequisite for distinguishing between L2 learning delay and a specific learning disability. We evaluated five commonly used reading and spelling tests for measurement invariance (MI) as a function of first language (German vs. other). Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed strict MI for the Weingarten Basic Vocabulary Spelling Tests (WRTs) 3+ and 4+ and the Salzburger Reading (SLT) and Spelling (SRT) Tests, suggesting these instruments are suitable for assessing reading and spelling skills regardless of first language. The MI for A Reading Comprehension Test for First to Seventh Graders–2nd Edition (ELFE II) was partly strict with unequal intercepts for the text subscale. We discuss the implications of this finding for assessing reading performance of children with L2.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85153495052
U2 - 10.1080/08957347.2023.2201701
DO - 10.1080/08957347.2023.2201701
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85153495052
SN - 0895-7347
VL - 36
SP - 115
EP - 131
JO - Applied Measurement in Education
JF - Applied Measurement in Education
IS - 2
ER -