Kirsten Newell

Project AMPS: Advancing Multilingual Practices and Supports

Note to prospective students: I am currently accepting new graduate students.

I seek to define and remove barriers to the implementation of data-based decision making and tiered service delivery in relation to students’ academic skills. To that end, my research focuses on two identified barriers to implementation: a) a lack of validated academic assessment tools and decision-making processes for use with bilingual learners, and b) a lack of interpretation and use of academic assessment data.

Students with two or more languages are an increasing population in our schools. Correspondingly, educators need to be able to allocate resources equitably and efficiently for students who are dual-language learners. Curriculum-based measures (CBM) such as oral reading fluency (ORF) probes are a logical choice to address this need. However, there remains a need for validity evidence to support the use of CBM ORF or other assessments as screening tools with bilingual students, particularly validity evidence that incorporates language proficiency as a key variable. Easy access to valid assessments may help educators reframe bilingualism and diversity as student strengths, rather than weaknesses or risk factors.

Despite evidence that academic assessment data use can improve student outcomes, in my years of practice I rarely saw data graphed, analyzed, or used to inform instruction. Therefore, my second line of research seeks to understand and support educators’ competence and confidence in interpreting academic assessment data to inform instruction and intervention. I believe that action research partnerships in data based decision making can also provide a much-needed link between research and practice.