The English Proficiency Test of the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology: A Review
One of the serious decisions which every administrator may need to make during his/her professional career is to select or reject applicants based on their general language skills or competence. These significant decisions, which may be of serious consequences not only for the individuals but als...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Lasting Impressions Press
2017-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value5%20issue3/4-5-3-17.pdf |
| Summary: | One of the serious decisions which every administrator may need to make during his/her
professional career is to select or reject applicants based on their general language skills or
competence. These significant decisions, which may be of serious consequences not only for the
individuals but also for the society in general, are occasionally made based on norm-referenced
proficiency tests. Out of internationally available proficiency tests such as the TOEFL test, those
which fit the specific local cultural and academic contexts seem of greater prominence. One such test,
which has been specifically designed for the Iranian EFL context by the Ministry of Science, Research,
and Technology, is the MSRT proficiency test. While a few studies have been conducted on the
analysis of the reliability and validity of the mentioned test, no study has yet reviewed the test and its
component parts. Therefore, the current study aimed at considering the strengths and weaknesses of
the test in general and its component items in particular. The results implicated that the MSRT benefits
from more efficient general reliability and validity, well planned language items, practicality, ease of
administration, objective scoring, ease of accessibility, as well as reasonable fees, while it needs to be
more substantiated in terms of the inclusion of the speaking skill assessment, the computerized
adaptive assessment procedures, and the correction factor for guessing. In addition, the use of the
individual-based listening apparatus for testing listening comprehension as well as the consideration
of the integrative communicative tests for its concurrent validity purposes can contribute to more
appropriate distinction of proficient and non-proficient applicants. |
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| ISSN: | 2308-5460 2308-5460 |