The unified validity of the Four Skills Exam: applying Messick's framework

Abstract

In the USA, 17 states use Spanish-language proficiency tests to ensure that bilingual education teachers are able to deliver academic instruction in Spanish to school-age students. However, little is known about the tests’ validity. In this study the unified validity of the Four Skills Exam (FSE), used in New Mexico for nearly 18 years, was evaluated using Messick’s framework (1989). Through this analysis, the FSE was found to lack an adequate degree of validity due to questionable psychometric properties and factors external to the test. Messick’s framework offers bilingual educators a comprehensive blueprint for assessing the validity of these tests. The review of the FSE also elucidates pitfalls in bilingual education teacher language proficiency testing which other states should avoid.