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A Survey of English Language Testing Practices in China: Students’ and Teachers’ Perspectives

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Teacher Involvement in High-Stakes Language Testing

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Abstract

English language testing has developed rapidly in the past 30-odd years in China. However, limited research is currently existent as to how students and teachers view the testing practices, though both of them are believed to play a crucial role in High-Stakes testing. This study investigated how Chinese university students (n = 381) and English teachers (n = 100) viewed the status quo of English testing practices in the hope of providing more evidence in relation to the validity and fairness of assessments from stakeholders’ perspectives. The data in this study was collected through a 29-item survey questionnaire. The collected data was subjected to a number of statistical analyses including factor analysis, descriptive statistics, and independent sample t-tests. In addition, a thematic analysis was conducted of participants’ responses to the open-ended question. Results revealed that overall both groups of respondents had reasonably positive views on testing practices, though teachers were found to exhibit more positive views. That said, both students and teachers commented somewhat negatively on test design and the use of parallel test papers in test administration. While presenting important evidence as to the validity and fairness of English language testing in China, this study has further highlighted the significance of teacher involvement in High-Stakes testing in China and beyond.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this paper, ‘assessment’ and ‘test’ are used interchangeably though some writers have distinguished these two terms (e.g. Bachman 1990).

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Acknowledgements

The preparation of this chapter was sponsored by the National Planning Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences (NPOPSS) of the People’s Republic of China (or Guojia Sheke Jijin) under the project title The Development and Validation of Standards in Language Testing (Grant Number: 13CYY032). I would like to thank all teachers and students who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Jason Jinsong Fan

  2. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Jason Jinsong Fan

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  1. Jason Jinsong Fan
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Correspondence to Jason Jinsong Fan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for English Language Proficiency, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Daniel Xerri

  2. Department of English Junior College, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

    Patricia Vella Briffa

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Fan, J.J. (2018). A Survey of English Language Testing Practices in China: Students’ and Teachers’ Perspectives. In: Xerri, D., Vella Briffa, P. (eds) Teacher Involvement in High-Stakes Language Testing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77177-9_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77177-9_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77175-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77177-9

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