Format; Translation

Test developers continue to struggle with the technical and logistical problems inherent in assessing achievement across different languages. Many testing programs offer separate language versions of a test to evaluate the achievement of examinees in different language groups. However, comparisons of individuals who took different language versions of a test are not valid unless the score scales for the different versions are linked or equated. This paper discusses the psychometric problems involved in cross-lingual assessment, reviews linking models that have been proposed to enhance score comparability, and provides suggestions for developing and evaluating a model for linking different language versions of a test. The review of the literature did not reveal a linking model that completely resolved the problem, but it suggested that three designs are superior to methods that employ translation only or that use expert judgment to certify score equivalence. These designs are: (1) item response theory (IRT) linking using separate monolingual groups; (2) IRT linking via a bilingual group; and (3) matched monolingual group designs. (Contains 4 figures and 43 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document