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Alum Honored for Ed School Doctoral Dissertation

Maria Martiniello, Ed.M.'97, C.A.S.'98, Ed.D.'07, was named the second place winner in the 2010 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Outstanding Dissertation Competition. She will receive the award at the AAHHE Conference this week in Costa Mesa, Calif.

A panel of experts in higher education selected Martiniello's HGSE dissertation, "Linguistic Complexity and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) for English Language Learners (ELL) in Math Word Problems" for its contributions and efforts as an agent of change in improving education. Martiniello's research examined whether math tests -- like the one given as part of the MCAS -- are equally valid for children not proficient in English, considering a majority of math questions are word problems.

"Receiving this award honors those to whom my dissertation was dedicated, the noble immigrants who preceded me and their children," said Martinello, who currently works as an associate research scientist at the Educational Testing Service Center for Validity Research. "This award renews my commitment to ensuring equity and fairness in assessments of Latino English Language Learners, the driving force of my dissertation research."

Professors Catherine Snow and Dan Koretz advised Martiniello on the dissertation. "Maria Martiniello showed how the wording of MCAS math problems increased their complexity for English Language Learners (ELLs), often leading to lower scores that had nothing to do with math knowledge," Snow said. "She used linguistic analysis techniques as well as interviews with ELL students to identify the language that made certain test items particularly difficult for non-native speakers."

AAHHE is national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of higher education. AAHHE is primarily focused on the need to develop Latino/a faculty and senior administrators as well as serving as a leading research and advocacy group for Hispanic higher education issues.

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