Timothy Farnsworth

Associate Professor, Chair of Department of Curriculum and Teaching

Background

Professor Farnsworth’s research focuses on second language assessment for both adult and K12 education contexts. He has been published in TESOL Quarterly, Language Assessment Quarterly, Educational Assessment, and the Journal of Teacher Education Research, among others. His book, Assessing English Language Learners in US Schools, co-authored with Margaret Malone and published by TESOL press, is intended to inform teachers of English Language Learners in their formative assessment practices. He has presented at a wide variety of national and international conferences. His current research is an investigation into the classroom assessment practices of new teachers – how do they know what their students know, and what difficulties do they encounter in finding out?

Education
  • PhD, Applied Linguistics, University of California Los Angeles, 2008
  • BA, History, San Francisco State University, 1995
Teaching

I teach courses in language assessment in both the K12 and adult TESOL programs, as well as methods and practicum courses in the adult program.

Research

My research focuses on second language assessment for both adult and K12 education contexts. I have been published in TESOL Quarterly, Language Assessment Quarterly, Educational Assessment, and the Journal of Teacher Education Research, among others. My first book, Assessing English Language Learners in US Schools, co-authored with Margaret Malone and published by TESOL press, is intended to inform teachers of English Language Learners in their formative assessment practices. My current research is an investigation into the classroom assessment practices of new teachers – how do they know what their students know, and what difficulties do they encounter in finding out?

Publications

Farnsworth, T., & Malone, M. (2014). Assessing English learners in US schools. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press. ISBN 9781931185158.

Farnsworth, T. (2013). An investigation into the validity of the TOEFL iBT Speaking test for international teaching assistant certification. Language Assessment Quarterly, 10(3), pp 274-291. DOI: 10.1080/15434303.2013.769548

Farnsworth, T. (2013). Effects of targeted test preparation on scores of two tests of oral English as a second language. TESOL Quarterly 47 (1), 148-155. DOI: 10.1002/tesq.75

Baecher, L., Farnsworth, T., & Ediger, A. (2013). The challenges of planning language objectives in content-based instruction. Language Teaching Research 18 (1), 118-136. DOI 10.1177/1362168813505381

Grants
  • PSC-CUNY Trad A Summer 2012 Grant Awarded. Amount: $3,416.
  • Pearson Educational Measurement sponsored research, Spring 2010. Amount: $5,000