Evaluating Locally-Developed Language Testing: A Predictive Study of "Direct Entry" Language Programs at an Australian University

Autor/in	Cope, Nicholas
Titel	Evaluating Locally-Developed Language Testing: A Predictive Study of "Direct Entry" Language Programs at an Australian University
Quelle	In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34 (2011) 1, S.40-59 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0155-0640
Schlagwörter	Program Evaluation; Language Tests; Predictive Validity; Program Effectiveness; Second Language Learning; Universities; English (Second Language); Foreign Students; Correlation; Regression (Statistics); Outcomes of Education; Academic Achievement; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Programs; Remedial Instruction; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Language test; Sprachtest; Zweitsprachenerwerb; University; Universität; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Korrelation; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Schulleistung; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Förderkurs; Australien
Abstract	The study reported here investigates the predictive validity of language assessments by "Direct Entry" programs at an Australian University--programs developed on site for Non English Speaking Background international students, principally to provide (i) pre-entry academic and language preparation and (ii) language assessment for university admissions purposes. All 138 students in the sample had entered degree studies via one of the three programs that made up the locally-developed Direct Entry pathway. Inferential statistics (correlation and regression) showed the assessments awarded by two programs to satisfactorily predict academic outcomes, while predictive validity for one was not demonstrated. Descriptive statistics (mean pass rates and academic averages) then revealed a pattern of relatively poor academic performance in certain university disciplines to which particular Direct Entry programs were dedicated. Informed by principles of language program evaluation, the study's outcomes were seen as both summative and formative: remedial strategies are accordingly recommended. While the specific relevance of the study's findings is to the particular institutional context in which the study was conducted, the study instantiates a perspective on language assessment validation of broader relevance in an Australian context where locally-developed Direct Entry programs--about which the research literature is largely silent--are increasingly widespread. (Contains 6 tables and 8 endnotes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Applied Linguistics Association of Australia. e-mail: info@alaa.org.au; Web site: http://www.alaa.org.au/page/aral_journal.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10