ABSTRACT
It has been difficult to decide how to separate out the information contained in Chapters 5–8. As a whole, these chapters form a discussion about how one might improve assessment materials which are text-based and developed for audiences of test takers who are literate in English. Since English language and literacy is the largest stumbling block for English language learners, this topic deserves a complex and relatively thorough discussion. The decision was made to focus on foundational principles in this chapter, summarize item-based specific elements in the next, and associated materials, forms and reviews in Chapter 7. While the points which will be made in Chapters 5–7 are mostly relevant for items and tests in any language, issues associated with L1 assessment are multifaceted as well. As such, a decision was made to devote a separate chapter to this discussion (Chapter 8) and ask two experts in L1 issues and content testing to complete it. It is important to note that L1 forms produced using access-based development procedures discussed in Chapters 5 and 6 will be appropriate for the broadest range of English language learners, including those with limited literacy proficiency in their native language. As Solano-Flores et al. (2003) emphasize, significant magnitudes of score variation across L1 and English levels of proficiency demonstrate that access is an important issue for any language.
