An English Placement Test at Three Different Periods: The Implementation and the Test Administrators’ Views

Basori Basori, Harir Mubarok, Wahyu Indah Mala Rohmana, Maslihatul Bisriyah, Septia Dwi Jayanti, Elva Riezky Maharany

Abstract


This paper aims to explore the practice of an English placement test at one of the English education programs during three different testing periods (before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic). Further, the study sought to investigate the views of the test administrators, mainly focusing on the challenges they faced administering the test during the period mentioned. Using a qualitative case study approach, the researchers gathered the data from the results of observations and final reflections of the test administrators. The findings revealed that the placement test in three different periods applied similar three consecutive stages: the pre-testing stage, the testing day, and the post-testing stage. The goal of the test is also similar to that it is used to gauge the newly intake students entering TBIP. Rather than grouping students for specific classes, the placement test was conducted as a part of need analysis strategies to understand students’ English proficiency levels. While the placement tests before and after the pandemic have similarities, especially in preparation activities, the test format, and the test delivery, the placement test during COVID-19 differs. Despite those issues, the placement test administrators believed the test brought additional benefits. In addition to gauging the newly intake students’ English proficiency, the placement test was a way to start building positive relationships with students before meeting in an actual class. Hence, the test administrators have mixed feelings upon administering the placement test. Some final thoughts conclude the papers. 


Full Text:

PDF

References


Alderson, J. C. (2010). A survey of aviation English tests. Language Testing, 27(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532209347196

Bahr, P. R., Fagioli, L. P., Hetts, J., Hayward, C., Willett, T., Lamoree, D., Newell, M. A., Sorey, K., & Baker, R. B. (2019). Improving placement accuracy in California’s community colleges using multiple measures of high school achievement. Community College Review, 47(2), 178–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552119840705

Brown, D., & Priyanvada, A. (2018). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practice (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.

Chung, S. J., Haider, I., & Boyd, R. (2015). The English placement test at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Language Teaching, 48(2), 284–287. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444814000433

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Crosnoe, R., Johnson, M. K., & Elder, G. H. (2004). Intergenerational bonding in school: The behavioral and contextual correlates of student-teacher relationships. Sociology of Education, 77(1), 60–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070407700103

Daniel, S. J. (2020). Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects, 49(1–2), 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3

Fan, J., & Jin, Y. (2020). Standards for language assessment: demystifying university-level English placement testing in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 40(3), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2019.1706445

Fox, J. (2004). Test decisions over time: Tracking validity. Language Testing, 21(4), 437–465. https://doi.org/10.1191/0265532204lt292oa

Fulcher, G. (1997). An english language placement test: Issues in reliability and validity. Language Testing, 14(2), 113–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229701400201

Golubovich, J., Tolentino, F., & Papageorgiou, S. (2018). Examining the applications and opinions of the TOEFL ITP ® assessment series test scores in three countries. ETS Research Report Series, 2018(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12231

Green, B. A., & Lung, Y. S. M. (2021). English language placement testing at BYU-Hawaii in the time of COVID-19. Language Assessment Quarterly, 18(1), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2020.1863966

Hagenauer, G., & Volet, S. E. (2014). Teacher-student relationship at university: An important yet under-researched field. Oxford Review of Education, 40(3), 370–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.921613

Hashemi, M. R., & Zabihi, R. (2011). Learners’ attributional beliefs in success or failure and their performance on the interchange objective placement test. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(8), 954–960. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.1.8.954-960

Hille, K., & Cho, Y. (2020). Placement testing: One test, two tests, three tests? How many tests are sufficient? Language Testing, 37(3), 453–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220912412

Isbell, D. R., & Kremmel, B. (2020). Test review: Current options in at-home language proficiency tests for making high-stakes decisions. Language Testing, 37(4), 600–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220943483

Jennings, M., Fox, J., Graves, B., & Shohamy, E. (1999). The test-takers’ choice: An investigation of the effect of topic on language-test performance. Language Testing, 16(4), 426–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229901600402

Kwan, R., White, B., Tse, S., Eustace, K., & Mcpherson, D. (2009). Placement testing: Man and machine, doing the best we can? Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 6(4), 244–253. https://doi.org/10.1108/17415650911009218

Masduki, M., Poedjiastutie, D., & Giat Prabowo, C. (2022). Teachers’ English level proficiency: Do students perceive it as a threat or a chance? Arab World English Journal, 13(1), 72–86. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no1.5

Ockey, G. J., Muhammad, A. A., Prasetyo, A. H., Elnegahy, S., Kochem, T., Neiriz, R., Kim, H., & Beck, J. (2021). Iowa State University’s English placement test of oral communication in times of COVID-19. Language Assessment Quarterly, 18(1), 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2020.1862122

Papageorgiou, S., & Cho, Y. (2014). An investigation of the use of TOEFL® JuniorTM Standard scores for ESL placement decisions in secondary education. Language Testing, 31(2), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532213499750

Poel, C. J., & Weatherly, S. D. (1997). A cloze look at placement testing. Shiken: JALT Testing & Evaluation SIG Newsletter, 1(April), 2–11.

Powers, D. (2010). The case for a comprehensive, four-skills assessment of english language proficiency.

Renandya, W. A., Hamied, F. A., & Nurkamto, J. (2018). English language proficiency in Indonesia: Issues and prospects. Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(3), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2018.15.3.4.618

Sinto, R. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic-to-endemic transition in Indonesia: What does the future hold? Acta Medica Indonesiana, 54(2), 159–160.

Wullur, B. G. (2011). Developing an English performance test for incoming Indonesian students. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 58–72. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v1i1.99




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/jetli.v6i2.19100

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of English Teaching and Learning Issues

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License