Field Trial preparations
SurveyLang will conduct a Field Trial in February/March 2010, one year prior to the Main Study. The Field Trial will involve a sample of 40 schools from each participating country for each of the two most widely taught foreign languages in that country (from English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).
Purpose
The purpose of the Field Trial is to provide information on the quality of the test items (both Language Tests and Questionnaires) and in-country translations of important SurveyLang documentation (including Questionnaires and important manuals for in-country use). This Field Trial allows any arising issues in terms of the test items and translations to be resolved before the Main Study. The Field Trial also provides an opportunity for participating countries to familiarise themselves with all of the sampling tasks required of them.
SurveyLang Development
Because the Field Trial is a dry run of the actual survey, all test materials and systems must be developed before the Field Trial. This lead up to the Field Trial is therefore a very intensive development period for SurveyLang.
All of the language test material has already been developed in preparation for pretesting which is only four months prior to the Field Trial. The three contextual Questionnaires have also been developed and are in the process of being translated by countries.
The computer-based software system will contain all of the Language Test material and Questionnaires. Both the paper-based and computer-based testing material will be provided by this system. Currently, the Item Authoring tool and Test Item databank have already been completed and work is focusing on the test assembly and test rendering tools.
National Research Coordinator tasks
Pre-Field Trial is also a busy time for participating countries. National Research Coordinators have a number of tasks to complete before the Field Trial can take place in their country. These tasks predominantly relate to the SurveyLang areas of translation and sampling. As the time schedule is very tight, demanding, and has many interdependencies, SurveyLang and the National Research Coordinators maintain regular communication to ensure the National Research Coordinators understand all tasks, receive any support they need and are progressing as required by the schedule. Training sessions are also provided by SurveyLang in the build-up to the Field Trial which focus on test administration, marking issues and use of the testing tool. National Research Coordinators are responsible for cascading this training to staff in-country.