The adult English language learner in community college: A study of the relationship between ethnicity and gender and standardized testin

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between ethnicity, gender, and performance on standardized tests in English as a Second Language (ESL) in community colleges throughout the Pacific Northwest. Two community colleges from rural and urban areas were chosen by stratified random sampling of 54 community colleges throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. Background for this study included a discussion of Bandura's theory of self-efficacy (1977) and its applications in assessment of adult English language learners (ELLs) from diverse cultures. Discussion also highlighted the impact of illiteracy among adult ELLs in the United States, some practices and uses of standardized testing for ethnic minorities, learning differences among ethnic minorities, and attempts to accommodate ethnic minority adult learners in a dominant Anglo-European culture. Findings were based on a correlation research design using two-way analysis of variance (two-way ANOVA). The objective was to determine if there was a correlation between ethnicity, gender, and standardized tests. Two main analyses of variance were conducted using difference scores (point gains) between pretests and posttests, and also the mean posttest scores of adult ELLs. Post hoc tests (Scheffe and Tukey's HSD) were also conducted to examine each pair of variables for additional correlations. Results of correlational analysis were mixed. Although results indicated that there was no main effect for ethnicity or gender in relation to point gains on standardized tests, results indicated that there were differences based on ethnicity and gender with regard to mean posttest scores, especially on post hoc tests for the selected colleges in the study.