2026 AALA 1st Student Committee Webinar on Assessing Young Language Learners
We are delighted to host this webinar featuring Dr. Ching-Ni Hsieh from ETS and Dr. Jeanne Sinclair from Memorial University of Newfoundland. In this webinar, they will offer insights into current challenges and new directions in assessing young language learners. Dr. Hsieh will focus on building validity arguments and evidence-based assessment practices, while Dr. Sinclair will discuss culturally and linguistically responsive assessment through a cognitive lens. In addition to their research, this webinar will also highlight the speakers’ professional career pathways. Dr. Hsieh will share her experiences working in the assessment industry at ETS, and Dr. Sinclair will share her journey in academia as a faculty member. Further details about the presentations and speakers can be found below.
Mode
Online
Date & Time
February 25 (Wed), 8:00-9:00 am – ICT (UTC+7)
February 25 (Wed), 9:00-10:00 am – CST (UTC+8)
February 25 (Wed), 10:00-11:00 am – JST/KST (UTC+9)
February 25 (Wed), 12:00-1:00 pm – AEDT (UTC+11)
February 24 (Tue), 8:00-9:00 pm – EST (UTC−5)
Location
Speakers
Dr. Ching-Ni Hsieh
Senior Measurement Scientist, ETS
Building Validity Arguments for Young Learner Assessments: Evidence, Challenges, and New Directions
This webinar examines test validity in assessing young language learners, emphasizing how score interpretations are justified through empirical evidence. Using an argument-based validation framework, the talk highlights research designs, data sources, and analytical approaches commonly used to support test score claims. Key studies will illustrate how assessment developers and researchers gather evidence to support score-based claims. Additionally, the speaker will share her career journey from doctoral training to industry research and highlight key skills, mindsets, and professional dispositions that early career scholars can cultivate as they prepare for research or assessment focused careers.
Bio
Ching-Ni Hsieh is a Senior Measurement Scientist at ETS where she specializes in language assessment research and development. Her current research focuses on test validation, assessing young language learners, and assessment of speaking and writing skills. Ching-Ni has prior experience in test development, curriculum development, teacher training, and language education. She received her PhD in Second Language Studies from Michigan State University and master’s degree in English Language Teaching from the University of Nottingham.
Dr. Jeanne Sinclair
Assistant Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Assessing Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children’s Language and Literacy Development: What Could a Cognitive Perspective Offer?
Culturally and linguistically responsive assessment and instruction are socially just and beneficial for children’s sense of belonging. I will share a framework that further underscores the benefits of cultural and linguistic responsiveness through a cognitive lens, with a focus on enhancing the quality and utility of inferences and decisions based on assessment outcomes.
Bio
Jeanne Sinclair is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She completed her PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Language and Literacies Education and she holds an MA in Bicultural/Bilingual Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Prior to entering academia, she was a bilingual (Spanish-English) elementary teacher in central Texas. Her work focuses on inclusive and culturally responsive assessment, theoretical and policy issues in language and literacy education, and teachers' professional learning.
