Resources

Student Activities

Unit A10: Arguments and Evidence in Test Validation and Use

Activity 10.1: Statistical Evidence

Language testing and educational measurement in general, frequently makes use of statistical data as evidence in a validity argument. But just what are ‘statistics’?

http://www.le.ac.uk/education/testing/ilta/faqs/statistics56.rm

Watch this video, in which Professor Fred Davidson, one of the authors of this book, talks about Statistics.

There is a quiz to help you focus on the Video. This will open in a new window when you click here: http://www.le.ac.uk/education/testing/quiz1.html. In the left hand column you will find key words from Fred Davidson's definition of statistics. In the right hand column you will see definitions of those words. Drag and drop the definitions next to the word on the left which it defines. When you have finished, click on the word 'check' to see if you have attached the correct definitions to the words. You will need to do this using Internet Explorer V6.0 or higher.

Why are statistics so prevalent in society?

What role do you think statistical data can play in developing an argument?

Activity 10.2: Review of a Research Paper

Reading Online

Download and print out: Russell, M and Tao, W. (2004) “The influence of computer-print on rater scores.” Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 9, 10: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=9&n=10.

This article is a replication of a previous study that found scores for handwritten essays were HIGHER than those for computer written essays.

• How is the research introduced?
• How does the literature review situate the research and indicate its importance?
• List the steps used in this research from the Methodology section. Why do the authors provide such detail?
• Underline explicit hypotheses. How are these hypotheses related to the methodology of data collection?
• When results are presented, notice that each table is carefully explained and interpreted in text that is in close proximity to the table itself. Underline the key inferences made by the authors from each table.
• The argument from data to conclusion is made explicit in the Discussion section of this paper. Underline the key CLAIMS made by the authors

Note: In order to understand what we mean by a claim, you will need to refer to Unit 10A in our book.

Notice that statistical data in and of themselves do not justify a claim. Statistical data provide (part of) the grounds for a claim. It is still necessary to argue WHY the claim is more likely to be true because of this evidence. As we argue in the book, there can always be multiple claims based on the same evidence.