Samantha Musser is the Manager of Speaking Test Development at CAL. Since 2013, Sam has applied her background in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis to research supporting and the development of the ACCESS for ELLs Speaking test, part of the WIDA Consortium’s summative assessment of English language proficiency. She worked on the transition of the ACCESS Speaking test from a paper-based to a computer-delivered format and the creation of new scoring and interpretive rubrics for both Speaking and Writing domains.

Sam now manages the development of the Speaking domain of ACCESS for ELLs, overseeing the process of developing new tasks, from the revision of task specifications and generation of raw content; through refinement by test developers, reviews by educators, and field testing with students; to the delivery of finalized content for operational testing. She also manages the creation of the corresponding rater training and scoring materials for these tasks.

Beyond language testing, Sam’s research interests include discourse and identity, discourse and social media, and language attitudes and linguistic discrimination. She holds an M.A. in Linguistics with a concentration in Language and Communication from Georgetown University and a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan.