With an appropriation of over 31 million dollars funding 112 different programs, FLAS fellowship programs require significant time and resources. Ensuring that these programs have appropriate and valid tools for assessing and reporting student outcomes, as well as informing future instruction, is essential to (a) Demonstrate the value of FLAS fellowships and (b) Measure the impact of FLAS programs relative to the stated goal of increasing the number of highly proficient language users.

The study aims to investigate assessment practices in FLAS Fellowship programs, focusing on the IFLE Assessment Tool in particular. We will aim to achieve three objectives:

1. Validation research on IFLE Assessment Tool to assess and report program language proficiency outcomes in FLAS programs.
2. Research-based outcomes in the form of support structures needed to use IFLE Assessment Tool reliably and effectively as a pre-and post-program measure of language proficiency and
3. An improved understanding of FLAS Fellowship language assessment practices taking into account the perspectives of both program administrators and Fellowship recipients;

The findings will provide a detailed picture of language proficiency assessment in FLAS programs and significantly contribute to the goals of the International and Foreign Language Education Programs under Title VI, which is to develop capacity in world languages.