SSA_2024_SOUTH AFRICA_Primary English Language Reading Test design and evaluation Consultancy

Tender description

Objectives Develop a theoretical approach to testing reading comprehension for a comprehensive English Language Reading Test for primary school pupils in development projects contexts.<br />Project duration June – August 2024<br />Proposed team This project can be carried out by a small team of academics and/or practitioners with a strong track record in assessment from an academic institution that will be selected through a competitive selective call for proposals. <br /> Suitable applicants will be able to demonstrate expertise and experience in following areas<br />- Teaching and learning of reading, research into reading comprehension for young learners, particularly for learners in the development contexts in which the test is likely to be used<br />- Demonstrated experience and expertise in language test development and research<br />If the applicant has suitable testing experience in other subjects, but language test experience is a gap, there are several UK language testing research centres who could potentially partner on this project. If this is of interest, please contact us before the clarification question deadline.<br />In addition to expertise in assessment, the team must also have a comprehensive understanding of the complexities, issues, and risks involved in conducting assessments in a low-resource development context where English is taught as an Additional Language.<br />Expected outputs The anticipated outputs are a report and presentation to relevant British Council staff. The report should cover:<br />1. Literature review of current theory and practice of primary aged pupil exams relevant to low resource contexts such as those in SSA, including considerations such as cognitive load, multilingual approaches, and different aspects of validity. Suppliers should consider the Socio-Cognitive Model as described in Chalhoub-Deville and O’Sullivan (2020) as this is widely used by the British Council and other test developers. The Khalifa and Weir (2009) reading model should also be addressed in the review.<br />2. In light of this literature review, analyse and evaluate strengths and weaknesses of tests used in the SSA development sector (including EGRA and the BLF pupil test). <br />3. Adapt and/or design a theoretical approach for a comprehensive English Language Reading Test for primary school pupils in development projects contexts. This must be based on a clear validity model emerging from the literature review in (1) above. <br />Budget The contract value for this assignment will not exceed £25,000.<br />