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Hope you are enjoying the summer.<BR>
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The following is an update of the Naturalization Test Redesign Project from Eva Millona of the MIRA Coalition. <BR>
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Kenny Tamarkin
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Executive Director
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MCAE
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KTamarkin@mcae.net
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978-979-1906<BR>
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Hello Everyone:<BR>
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Here is a quick update describing Office of Citizenship activities related<BR>
to the Naturalization Test Redesign Project.<BR>
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1. Pilot Test: Data collection in the field for the primary pilot test<BR>
ended at the end of May. American Institute for Research, the pilot<BR>
contractor, is currently completing data entry and clean-up and will provide<BR>
some preliminary results to the Office of Citizenship this month. OOC plan<BR>
on holding a meeting with the stakeholders in early August, and a meeting of<BR>
the ESL panel in mid July to review the preliminary results, and to discuss<BR>
how well individual pilot items performed. They are also discussing<BR>
possible modification of the testing rubrics and the detailed test<BR>
administration instructions based on field observations.<BR>
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2. Secondary Study: In response to stakeholder requests, the Office of<BR>
Citizenship expanded the secondary pilot study to classrooms outside of the<BR>
10 pilot sites. Among other cities, OOC have visited programs in<BR>
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Wichita and Garden City, Kansas;<BR>
Rochester and Ithaca New York; Washington, DC; and Baltimore, Maryland. In<BR>
July they will be visiting additional classrooms in San Francisco, Oakland<BR>
and San Diego, California. Data from this secondary study (among likely<BR>
naturalization applicants) will be helpful to measure how well applicants at<BR>
varying levels of English fare on the redesigned test. OOC explains that<BR>
this will help them to address concerns expressed by some that applicants<BR>
with lower English abilities would be more likely to opt out of the pilot<BR>
test.<BR>
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3. Final test announcement: OOC plans to announce the redesigned<BR>
naturalization final test by sometime in late summer or early fall. They<BR>
also hope to release the final report on the results of the pilot prepared<BR>
by the contractor, American Institutes for Research.<BR>
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Please let me know if you have any questions.<BR>
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Thanks,<BR>
Eva<BR>
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Eva A. Millona<BR>
Policy Director<BR>
MIRA Coalition<BR>
105 Chauncy Street 9th Floor<BR>
Boston,MA 02111<BR>
Tel:617.350.5480 ext.211<BR>
Fax:617.350.5499<BR>
emillona@miracoalition.org<BR>
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