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ERIC Number: EJ1466898
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1017-7108
EISSN: EISSN-2671-9312
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Legitimate or Illegitimate Uses of Test Scores in Contexts Unrelated to Test Purposes
Gwan-Hyeok Im; Tim McNamara
English Teaching, v72 n2 p71-99 2017
Scores on the Test of English for International Communication Listening and Reading (TOEIC LR) have been used for rolling-based university admissions in South Korea. Because this test is not designed for that purpose by the testing organization, there may be a need to explore the validity of TOEIC LR score use for admission purposes. Accordingly, this study investigated how admissions officers in South Korea perceived TOEIC LR scores and their uses and why they used the scores for admission purposes. We adopted a sequential mixed-method design (Creswell & Clark, 2011) involving three phases of data collection: (1) analysis of application handbooks to identify the questionnaire survey target, (2) a survey of faculty (n = 20) involved in admissions, and (3) semi-structured interviews with selected participants (n = 5) to delve into their questionnaire responses. The findings were that (a) almost half of the universities in Korea were implementing special admissions and accepted the scores on the recognized English tests; (b) use of the test lacks validity because most of the admissions officers did not view the test scores as an indicator of English proficiency and academic aptitude; (c) approximately half of the admissions officers viewed the scores as a reflection of an applicant's effort, test-taking skills learned at language institutes, and former residence in English-speaking countries; and (d) the TOEIC LR scores were used due to a lack of other English tests as well as social pressure such as test fees and testing site availability.
Korea Association of Teachers of English. 6105 English Education Department, Chinju National University of Education, 369beon-gil 3, Jinyangho-ro, Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, 52673, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-42-629-7381; Fax: +82-42-629-7320; e-mail: katejournal29@gmail.com; Web site: https://journal.kate.or.kr/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English for International Communication
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A