Page 12 - ELG2304 Apr Issue 484

EXAM NEWS .

Testing by numbers

he numbers from the assessment bodies, government-approved tests for
as exam boards are now usually known, immigrants is also expected soon.
shows the trendline going upwards, no Unfortunately, less welcome CREDIT HARIADHI
Tmatter which metric you use. numbers are also high in another
When it comes to candidate numbers, with reports that cheating soaring
Cambridge University Press and Assessment has following the switch to at home
announced take-up for Linguaskill, described on-line tests during the pandemic.
on their website as ‘a quick and easy on-line Last year ETS reported a 200 per
test’, have now topped the one million mark. cent year on year increase in the
At Pearson, it is the financial numbers number of on-line in the number
which have hit the headlines with £456 of tests scores cancelled in 2021
million in unaudited profits announced in because of suspect test results.
early March. English language learning was In the UK, new entrant Duolingo,
the best performing area with a 90 per cent whose on-line English language test
increase in the number of Pearson Tests of was adopted by many universities
English, and total candidate numbers for the during lockdown, hit back at reports
year hitting 827,000. in the i newspaper that an increase in plagiarism simply not be enough to judge the level of
On the test centre front, the PSI English has been noted at UK universities, particularly written English.
Skills team has played a Sblinder with 300 test among students who were admitted on their Given the exam format, it is perfectly
centres in 128 countries, more than any other results. While the company cited its AI possible that successful candidates have an
government approved Secure English Language proctoring and identification protocols as its adequate level of language knowledge and
Test (SELT) for immigration purposes. Their protection against cheating, the answer may good receptive skills, precisely the areas
English Skills exam is the only SELT available be more simple. Duolingo grades. When it comes writing,
in eight countries – small wonder test taker The UK universities complaint is focussed however, the key skill in UK Higher Ed, their
numbers have increased fivefold. the students’ writing. Yet the writing section performance may be much lower. After all, if
The demand for language tests is still of the Duolingo test, is afforded a maximum we look at the statistics on IELTS we see that
growing. In February this year, Canadian of 3 minutes of test time, with samples videoed the writing test grades are often half a band
Immigration authorities approved a new and shared with the university but left ungraded score more lower than those for the other
Pearson exam. A new Australian list of by Duolingo. Two short writing samples may three skills.

Professional development

for English language teachers

Join us in Oxford this summer for the opportunity to learn skills and
gain new techniques at all stages of your teaching career. Share best
practices with other teachers from across the globe and gain a wealth
of ideas to use in your own classroom.

OXFORD ENGLISH ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ TEACHERS’ SUMMER
ACADEMY MASTERCLASS SEMINAR
Sun 09 Jul - Sat 22 Jul 2023 Sun 23 Jul - Sat 05 Aug 2023
Christ Church Worcester College
Aimed at teachers with at least Aimed at teachers with more
two years’ experience. than four years’ experience.

@OxfordConted www.conted.ox.ac.uk/elt23

12 April 2023