Volume 1, 1998, Paper 5
Paper 5: Survey of receiving institutions' use and attitude to
IELTS
Clare McDowell and Brent Merrylees
Since its launch in December 1989, IELTS has established a
significant profile in Australia while still facing opposition in
some circles and competition from other tests which eat into its
potential candidature. Many universities run their own
English test for entry into programs possibly as an incentive to
lure students to their university. Other institutions may use
IELTS but with little understanding of what an IELTS score actually
signifies and what level of predictive validity it offers.
This research project was conceived and designed to investigate
some major issues relating to tertiary level English language
testing generally and ascertain the attitude of the end users of
these tests, i.e. the universities and TAFE colleges, in an attempt
to piece together an overall picture of test usage. It was
decided to target the institutions both at the Admissions level and
also within individual faculties on a one to one basis, in
particular those accepting large numbers of overseas NESB students,
to ascertain views on the test. It was felt that opinions
should be sought on a range of issues, from the product
itself (i.e. the level of English competence that an organisation
can expect from a student offering an IELTS score) to matters
relating to test administration (e.g. the positive aspects and/or
shortcomings of IELTS in terms of speed of results and cost
to candidates).
The overall objectives of the research were:
- to establish which institutions are using IELTS as their main
instrument of assessment of English proficiency for incoming NESB
students
- to establish to what extent IELTS is serving the needs of these
receiving institutions
- to establish what other language proficiency tests are being
used for assessment of English proficiency
The research also posed the question as to whether Australia
needs the variety of tests, which are currently being used/offered
by institutions, and what effect this diverse choice may be having
on overall educational standards across the Australian education
sector.
