Burning Questions 2: Target Languages & STAMP Test Questions

Описание: Welcome to Burning Questions. This video series is dedicated to exploring the tough questions and comments from educators and district administrators about testing, data, and the STAMP (STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency) test. Carl Falsgraf, Co-Founder of Avant Assessment is joined by Victor Santos, Director of Assessment and Research at Avant Assessment to answer some of the Burning Questions we receive.

This was one of the first big questions the team discussed when STAMP was initially developed nearly 2 decades ago.

After going back and forth on the answer, the team ultimately realized that the purpose of STAMP was not to teach, it was to assess proficiency. With that in mind, they determined that they had to specifically define the population taking the STAMP test, allowing them to better target that audience.

When STAMP was developed, the team made sure that they understood what they were measuring. For instance, with the Reading section in STAMP, we are measuring a test taker’s ability to understand the text, not the instructions. By having the questions or the instructions in the target language, there’s the possibility of words or grammar queuing test-takers to respond in a certain way without fully understanding the passage.

While this format may not work for everyone, tests are not a one-size-fits-all solution, which is why it’s important that there are so many options out there.