ICCS 2009 Technical Report - IEA

Of these, the survey instruments (cognitive test, questionnaires, and regional module) weresubject to the international verification procedure. The ISC provided participating countrieswith electronic files of all materials to be adapted and/or translated. In addition, the cognitivetest and questionnaire items were listed in a single combined document, the nationaladaptations form (NAF), in which national research coordinators (NRCs) registered theiradaptations to the instruments. Reviewers of these documents listed suggestions for changes,which were then commented on by the NRCs.Languages used in ICCS 2009For most participating countries, identifying the language that would be used for testing(i.e., the target language) was straightforward. This was typically the dominant language usedin public and private arenas of society, including the education system. However, in somecountries, there was more than one official language or language of instruction in schools. Inthese cases, countries prepared instruments in all required languages. Ten countries administeredall or parts of the assessment (most commonly, the student instruments) in two or morelanguages. Table 5.1 shows the list of languages used for the ICCS survey.Participating countries were strongly encouraged to hire qualified and experienced translatorsand reviewers to work with the ICCS materials.National centers were expected to enlist at least one translator (preferably certified) per targetlanguage, with the following qualifications:• Excellent knowledge of English;• Target language as a native language;• Knowledge of and experience in the country’s present cultural context and, if possible,experience translating texts on social and/or political issues;• Experience with students in the target grade; and• Familiarity with test development.Reviewers were given the task of assessing the translation’s readability for the target population.They were required to have the following qualifications:• Excellent knowledge of English;• Target language as a native language;• Knowledge of and experience in the country’s present cultural context; and• Experience with students in the target grade.Countries that administered the assessment in more than one target language were advisedto employ a professional competent in all languages, who could ensure that adaptations wereimplemented consistently in the different language versions. National centers were permitted tohire more than one translator/reviewer per language (for instance, one person to translate thetest, another person to translate the questionnaires), but were responsible for maintaining theconsistency of the translations and adaptations within and across instruments.Guidelines for translation and adaptation of the instrumentsThe guidelines for translation and adaptation provided to all countries were designed to ensurethe international comparability of the national versions of the instruments, while allowing forcultural adaptations when necessary. All of the instruments required some kind of adaptation,and these were subject to a careful documentation and review procedure. The overarchingprinciple of the translation and adaptation process was that students from different countriesshould receive exactly the same questions.52 ICCS 2009 technical report