{"id":45481,"date":"2018-10-01T13:07:51","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T20:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=45481"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:07:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T20:07:51","slug":"we-all-put-too-much-emphasis-on-test-scores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/we-all-put-too-much-emphasis-on-test-scores\/","title":{"rendered":"We all put too much emphasis on test scores"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nWe live in testing times. We also live in a time of globalization, immigration and the internationalization of schools and universities around the world. Our current obsession with school accountability and student learning outcomes has resulted in the increased use and abuse of test scores \u2014 in particular language test scores.<\/p>\n

Language test scores are now an admission ticket for post-secondary education and for skilled immigrants trying to gain entry into new countries. Test scores serve as the key to learning opportunities and professional success, impacting millions of lives. They also\u00a0play a crucial role in political, social and educational policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the considerable consequences of language testing, what exactly do test scores indicate? What can we tell about someone and their achievement or professional capability from a single test score? What are the implications when bureaucrats and education officials misinterpret test scores when making policy decisions on immigration or attracting more international students?<\/p>\n

In my role as director of the\u00a0Assessment and Evaluation Group<\/a>\u00a0in the Faculty of Education at Queen\u2019s University, I\u2019ve been involved in research on how students are tested for language proficiency and the consequences of such testing.<\/p>\n

Second language is essential<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s an important topic because evidence shows that an ability to speak a second language can determine so many things about an immigrant\u2019s future, including economic success, social integration and their overall ability to contribute to society. My research looks at the prevalence and impact of language testing. A key issue is how test scores are used or misused by policy makers.<\/p>\n

We should not be using a single test score to make decisions that can have a huge impact on someone\u2019s life. However, governments and organizations tend to do this because it is cheaper and they believe it offers a more clean-cut case on immigration, university entrance and professional certification.<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0latest census data<\/a>, Canada has more than 7.5 million foreign-born individuals who arrived as immigrants. That represents about 22 per cent of the population.<\/p>\n

All skilled workers and professionals who wish to immigrate to Canada need to\u00a0demonstrate their English or French language ability via a language test<\/a>, no matter where in the world they come from. The results of their test scores determine\u00a0whether they are permitted to settle<\/a>\u00a0and to practise as recertified professionals in Canada.<\/p>\n

Increase in international students<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There has been a rapid increase in the number of international students who wish to study at Canadian universities. The latest federal government data shows Canada had roughly 500,000 international students at the end of 2017. Canada\u2019s international student population has nearly tripled over the past decade and\u00a0now ranks fourth behind the United States, the United Kingdom and China<\/a>. Canada retains many of these international students as skilled workers through\u00a0Express Entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All international students are required to take a language test as part of the application process and their scores must meet the entrance requirements for Canadian universities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural to assume anyone taking those tests would be nervous, anxious or even frustrated. That is what we call high-stakes testing, which affects the lives of millions of people, all over the world, every day.<\/p>\n

An incomplete picture<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For example, when the stakes are high, research suggests that test-takers\u2019\u00a0motivation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0anxiety<\/a>\u00a0are significant factors associated with their test performance. Judging someone\u2019s test score without taking those factors into account presents an incomplete picture of the person taking the test.<\/p>\n

Successfully evaluating someone\u2019s English- or French-language abilities through various language tests has a direct impact on millions of lives of people who come to Canada to study and settle.<\/p>\n

Education and government decision-makers should not rely solely on test scores when making decisions about admitting people to schools or the country. That\u2019s why test validation \u2014 ensuring accurate uses and interpretations of the test scores \u2014 has become so important and has grown into\u00a0a major field of research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our research at Queen\u2019s is intended to raise public awareness of the intended and unintended consequences of how test scores are used and to make the case that policy-makers need better training on how to properly interpret scores.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Liying Cheng is a Professor and Director of Assessment and Evaluation Group at Queen’s University, Ontario<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We live in testing times. We also live in a time of globalization, immigration and the internationalization of schools and universities around the world. Our current obsession with school accountability and student learning outcomes has resulted in the increased use and abuse of test scores \u2014 in particular language test scores. Language test scores are […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":45482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[13474],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-45481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-testing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWe all put too much emphasis on test scores - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/we-all-put-too-much-emphasis-on-test-scores\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We all put too much emphasis on test scores - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We live in testing times. We also live in a time of globalization, immigration and the internationalization of schools and universities around the world. Our current obsession with school accountability and student learning outcomes has resulted in the increased use and abuse of test scores \u2014 in particular language test scores. 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