Investigating the effects of reducing linguistic complexity on EAL student comprehension in first-year undergraduate assessments

A Sociological Lens on Linguistic Diversity: Implications for Writing Inclusive Multiple-Choice Assessments

“…Likewise, we investigated a potential interaction effect between pathway participation and unpacked items in a subsequent model. Recognizing that the majority of the "difficulty" of an item will be defined by the content of the question and the individual-level student ability, we expect a small effect of unpacking the complexity of an individual item consistent with the results by Riccardi et al (2020). Similarly, we expect that, if detectable, the interaction term would be positive for students in the pathway since, as EAL students, they stand to have the most confusion resolved through unpacked items.…”

“…Linguistics scholars have documented connections between the complexity of test items and cognitive burden for EAL students, potentially contributing to a performance gap between EAL and ENL students (Abedi and Gandara 2006;Abedi, Hofstetter, and Lord 2004;Abedi and Lord 2001;Parkes and Zimmaro 2016). Riccardi et al (2020) demonstrate the importance of MCQ linguistic accessibility. Moreover, within the field of measurement and assessment, linguistic complexity is important to consider as a part of the validity and reliability of item/test writing to ensure clarity and prevent construct-irrelevant variance, or the presence of extraneous variables that affect the meaningfulness and accuracy of assessments (Abedi 2016).…”

“…International students-of which there are more than one million in the United States alone (Institute of International Education 2019)-drive this trend, along with first-generation immigrants and students raised in homes where English is not the primary language. As we will discuss, research shows that the linguistic structure of MCQs contributes to performance gaps between students who use English as a native language (ENL) and who use EAL (Riccardi et al 2020). Yet MCQ use is likely to persist (or increase) given growing enrollments in higher education (Marginson 2016) resulting in larger class sizes, increased pressure on faculty (Fairweather 2002), and more contingent teaching positions (Padilla and Thompson 2016).…”

“…As we will discuss, research shows that the linguistic structure of MCQs contributes to performance gaps between students who use English as a native language (ENL) and who use EAL (Riccardi et al 2020). Yet MCQ use is likely to persist (or increase) given growing enrollments in higher education (Marginson 2016) resulting in larger class sizes, increased pressure on faculty (Fairweather 2002), and more contingent teaching positions (Padilla and Thompson 2016).…”

Engaging in Linguistically Responsive Instruction: Insights from a First‐Year University Program for Emergent Multilingual Learners

“…This enhanced awareness has led subject instructors to revise their curriculum and in particular, to figure out more effective ways of scaffolding their instructional practices through more accessible language choices (i.e., less‐packed, dense‐nominalized structures) in lessons, assignments, and rubrics. (For a course‐level example of this, see Riccardi et al, 2020). This newly found knowledge and expertise has not only benefited students in our programs but also other learners across our university taking courses by the same instructors and by others now familiar with this work.…”