{"id":41615,"date":"2017-12-01T12:59:31","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T20:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=41615"},"modified":"2017-12-01T12:59:31","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T20:59:31","slug":"using-university-language-tests-migration-professional-registration-problematic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/using-university-language-tests-migration-professional-registration-problematic\/","title":{"rendered":"Using university language tests for migration and professional registration is problematic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Asian Student<\/p><\/div>
\nUsing the International English Language Testing System (IELTS<\/a>) to test things other than the\u00a0English readiness<\/a>\u00a0of international students commencing study or training, which is what it was designed to do, is problematic. The same can be said of tests like\u00a0TOEFL iBT<\/a>, which were built for\u00a0academic purposes<\/a>, and should only be used in that way.<\/p>\n

When they are applied to other contexts, such as migration or professional registration, it reduces the validity of these tests. They may not target the right proficiency for those purposes.<\/p>\n

Take driver\u2019s licences for example. Compare a car, bus and motorcycle license: they all have the same road rules in common, but passing a car driver\u2019s test doesn\u2019t automatically qualify you to handle a motorcycle or drive a bus. Tests of English are similar. They often have basic commonalities, such as the road rules of grammar and basic vocabulary, but the test focus and purpose varies.<\/p>\n

IELTS scores<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The test was created in 1989 in response to Australia opening its tertiary sector to international students. It was first used in 1999 for skilled\u00a0migration<\/a>. In 2001, it was used for general Australian\u00a0migration<\/a>. Language testing to gain professional registration was already established by this time.<\/p>\n

IELTS<\/a>\u00a0is a standardised test. It has four sub-tests of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It scores between 0-9, rising in 0.5 increments.<\/p>\n

Improvement<\/a>\u00a0on lower scores is usually much easier to achieve than at higher levels. The effort needed to improve in English from one to two is much easier to develop than that for six to seven.<\/p>\n

Institutions use the overall average score and\/or the sub-test scores. To get a score of seven in reading and listening sub-tests, a candidate can get about 25% of the questions\u00a0wrong<\/a>. You can hear big\u00a0differences<\/a>\u00a0in speaking ability between a score of five:<\/p>\n