Angel Arias

Biography

Angel Arias is an Assistant Professor in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Measurement from the Université de Montréal, Canada; his Master’s degree is in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies and also earned a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Carleton University. His bachelor’s degree is in Education and Modern Languages from Universidad Dominicana Organización y Métodos (O&M), Dominican Republic. His research interests focus on the application of psychometric models and mixed methods approaches in language testing and assessment to evaluate validity evidence of test score meaning and justification of test use in high stakes and classroom contexts. He has served as an external consultant for the Ministry of Quebec’s Education and Chair of the Test Validity Research and Evaluation special interest group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He speaks Spanish, English, and French fluently and previously taught English and French in the Dominican Republic.

Research interests

• Language testing and assessment
• Classroom assessment
• Validity theory
• Measurement theory
• Psychometrics/Statistics
• Mixed-methods methodology

Publications

• Articles in refereed journals

Arias, A., & Sireci, S. (2021). Validez y validación de pruebas educativas: Teoría y recomendaciones. https://reviberopsicologia.ibero.edu.co/article/view/1926

Baker, B., Homayounzadeh, M., & Arias, A. (2020). Development of a test taker-oriented rubric: Exploring its usefulness for test preparation and writing development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 50(100771). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2020.100771

• Special issues in refereed journals

Schissel, J. L. & Arias, A. Eds. (accepted). Language assessment innovations in multilingual contexts. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices.

Arias, A., & Schissel, J. L. (forthcoming). How are multilingual communities of practice being considered in language assessment: A language ecology approach. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices.

Presentations

• Refereed Paper Presentations

Arias, A., & Blais, J-G. (2020). Construct evidence of a second language listening test used for Canadian immigration. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME), San Francisco, CA. [Online Virtual Conference].

Arias, A., & Chénier, C. (2019). Exploration de la dérive des paramètres d’items comme preuve de validité : une application du modèle de Rasch. Presented at the 41^st colloquium of l’Association pour le développement des méthodologies d’évaluation en éducation (l’ADMEE – Canada). Sherbrooke, Québec.

Arias, A., Loye, N., & Béland, S. (2019). Validation des instruments de mesure en éducation et en psychologie : comparaison de modèles conceptuels. Presented at the 1^st colloquium of the Research Group in Pursuit of Validity in Drummondville, QC, Canada.

Loye, N., Arias, A., & Béland, S. (2019). La validation par l’argumentation. De quoi est-il question? Presented at the 1^st colloquium of the Research Group in Pursuit of Validity in Drummondville, QC, Canada.

Arias, A., & Blais, J-G. (2018). Maximum Likelihood (ML), Bayesian (BAYES), and Weighted Least Squares Means and Variance Adjusted (WLSMV) estimation procedures: A comparison of estimation methods with binary data from a language proficiency test. Presented at the 11th International Test Commission (ITC) conference in Montreal, QC, Canada.

Arias, A., Baker, B., & Chapelle, C. (2018). Creating a validity argument for an existing testing program for university admissions and professional certification. Presented at the 40th Language Testing Research Colloquium, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Arias, A., Baker, B & Hope, A. (2017). Skimming, scanning, search reading and reading comprehension: An exploration of constructs through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Presented at the 39^th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia.

Arias, A., Laurier, M. & Blais., J. G. (2017). La validation du volet de la compréhension orale du Test de connaissance du français à l’aide de l’analyse factorielle confirmatoire. Presented at the Canadian Association of Language Assessment (CALA). Ottawa, ON: Canada.

Arias, A., Baker, B. & Hope, A. (2015). Revising test specifications for the listening component of a high-stakes English assessment: A conceptual and data-driven approach. Presented at the East Coast Organization of Language Testers. Washington, DC.

Chénier, C. & Arias, A. (2015). Un seul score pour l’expression orale est-ce assez? Presented at the 37^th colloquium of l’Association pour le développement des méthodologies d’évaluation en éducation (l’ADMEE – Canada). Gatineau, Québec.

• Refereed Poster Presentations

Arias, A., & Blais, J-G. (2021). Using Rasch measurement to examine the psychometric properties of a listening test used for immigration. To be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Orlando, FL. [Online Virtual Conference].

Homayounzadeh, M., Baker, B., & Arias, A. (2018). Mixed-methods development of a test-taker-oriented writing rating scale. Presented at the 40th Language Testing Research Colloquium, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Arias, A. (2017). Re-evaluating commonly held views of residual-based fit statistics in language assessment research: Rasch analysis of the CanTEST listening test. Presented at the 39^th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia.

Arias, A., Stone, J. & Wu, A. (2013). Establishing cut scores through technological resources on the general version of the listening and reading tests of the 2014 Canadian English Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP-G). Presented at the 35^th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.

• Invited presentations

Arias, A. (2019). Les enjeux de validation des instruments de mesure en évaluation des langues. Presented at journée de réflexion sur l’évaluation des compétences langagières : Enjeux et perspectives. Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Arias, A. (2016). Le français sur objectif universitaire. Presented to the comité des études du département d’administration et fondements de l’éducation, Université de Montréal, QC, Canada.