2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

investigate whether it or a similar product can or could be administered on the Win-CAT-
ASVAB workstations.
The “new mousetrap” project
Making use of FY 2002 funding provided by the US Navy, we launched the first portion of a
multi-phase effort to design, develop, validate, and field a new test to provide a replacement
for or an enhancement to the existing DLAB. The first step of the design phase was to
review recent research on the subject of language aptitude and to query experts in this field to
obtain insights and recommendations to inform decisions for revising or replacing the
DLAB. To this end, and with contractor assistance, 80 we contacted several expert
consultants 81 who familiarized themselves with our issues, prepared position papers, and
participated in a two-day workshop at DLIFLC in October 2003. The three overarching
general questions which we posed to the experts were these:
• What do theoretical developments in educational and cognitive psychology with regard to
classroom-based, second language learning imply for the improvement of the DLAB?
Are there new constructs that relate to acquisition of a second language that can be used
in a predictive battery?
• What do current theories and practices in assessing aptitude for foreign language learning
among adults, or for adult learning in general, imply for the improvement of the DLAB?
Have there been significant developments in conceptualizing the assessment of aptitude
80 The services of Perot Systems Government Services, then Soza & Co., Ltd., were obtained through the
auspices of the OPM Training Management Assistance program. Perot Systems engaged the Center for
Applied Linguistics (CAL) as the project’s subcontractor.
81 THE CONSULTANTS WERE WILLIAM J. STRICKLAND, VICE PRESIDENT,
HUMAN RESOURCES RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (HUMRRO); PETER J.
ROBINSON, PROFESSOR OF LINGUISTICS, DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,
AOYAMA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY, TOKYO, JAPAN; AND DANIEL J REED,
LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT SPECIALIST, PROGRAM IN TESOL AND APPLIED
LINGUISTICS, INDIANA UNIVERSITY. AN EXPERT PARTICIPANT FROM WITHIN
THE US GOVERNMENT WAS MADELINE E. EHRMAN, DIRECTOR, RESEARCH,
EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT, FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE (FSI) AND
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, CENTER FOR THE ADVANCED STUDY OF
LANGUAGE (CASL). THE WORKSHOP WAS FACILITATED BY THREE PERSONS
FROM THE CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS, WASHINGTON, DC: DORRY
KENYON, DIRECTOR, LANGUAGE TESTING DIVISION; DAVID MACGREGOR,
RESEARCH ASSISTANT; AND PAULA M. WINKE, TEST DEVELOPMENT
COORDINATOR, LANGUAGE TESTING DIVISION AND PH.D. CANDIDATE,
APPLIED LINGUISTICS, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY. SOME OF THE MATERIAL
IN THIS PAPER IS BASED ON MATERIALS DEVELOPED DURING THIS PROJECT.
739
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003