Faculty and students in the Department teach and learn about Language Assessment, Measurement, and Program Evaluation (LAMPE) in order to promote:
- useful, fair, and accurate assessment of language users/learners in educational, occupational, and other social settings;
- rigorous and appropriate uses of measurement in second and foreign language research;
- effective evaluation of language programs and projects, including both processes and products, with an emphasis on improvement.
The specific objectives of the LAMPE specialization are to develop language professionals' knowledge, abilities, and ethics in:
- sound strategies for test (assessment, instrument, measurement) development;
- innovative approaches to test design;
- appropriate practices in test piloting and validation;
- effective analysis and reporting of test development, design, and validation;
- responsible uses of test score interpretations and related outcomes;
- accurate applications of measurement to research questions and problems;
- purposeful approaches, models, and practices in program evaluation;
- essential and diverse research methods applicable to assessment, measurement, and evaluation.
Courses: In addition to the four (4) core courses, MA students in the LAMPE track will complete the following:
Required:
- SLS 611 Second Language Testing
- SLS 630 Second Language Program Development
- The core seminar will be from SLS 730.
Two courses from the following:
- SLS 670 Second Language Research
- SLS 671 Research Issues in Language Testing
- SLS 674 Survey Research Method
- SLS 675 Second Language Qualitative Research
- A Program Evaluation Course (e.g., EDCS 769, EDEP 768G, or equivalent)