The study investigates the high-stakes English test for the SEE examination, emphasizing a mismatch with the curriculum's language skills and prompting exploration into test design processes and influencing factors. This research employs a qualitative case study approach. The findings reveal a gap between regulations valuing language skills and practical implementation in assessments. The tests are based on traditional testing philosophy, with inadequate standardization in the test items and test inadequate standardization in the test items and test administration. However, the bulk of these evaluations indicated factors including the teacher, the institution, and the students that had an impact on student learning. The four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—are valued by assessment regulations, but our classroom environment and evaluation system seldom put this into reality. Summative public exams, administered externally, lack feedback on teaching and primarily serve student progression. Despite recognizing the efficacy of communicative language instruction, the prevalence of non-communicative approaches in exams raises questions about students' communicative skills development. Although the testing literature is replete with theoretical discussions of test design, reviews, and validation (as seen by the references given previously), there is a lack of attention on how high-stakes language exams are actually constructed, particularly in developing cultures. Tests used in external examinations at various stages of schooling in these civilizations are of special importance. Although public examinations in English and other courses have been utilized in Nepal for decades, there has been little study on how these tests are created, what learning or success is targeted for evaluation, and what repercussions these tests may have for students and their families, the education system, and society at large. The researcher concludes by advocating for the adoption of theoretical advancements in testing within the Nepalese educational system and globally, emphasizing the importance of critically examining discrepancies within regulatory correlation, causation, and inconsistencies between testing and curriculum.
| Published in | International Journal of English Teaching and Learning (Volume 1, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14 |
| Page(s) | 22-33 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Curriculum, Language Teaching, Language Test Design, High-Stakes Testing, School Leaving Examinations, Testing Across Societies, Nepal
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APA Style
Ranjit, R. (2023). English Language Assessment in Nepal: Policies, Practices and Problems. International Journal of English Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14
ACS Style
Ranjit, R. English Language Assessment in Nepal: Policies, Practices and Problems. Int. J. Engl. Teach. Learn. 2023, 1(1), 22-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14
AMA Style
Ranjit R. English Language Assessment in Nepal: Policies, Practices and Problems. Int J Engl Teach Learn. 2023;1(1):22-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14,
author = {Rabu Ranjit},
title = {English Language Assessment in Nepal: Policies, Practices and Problems},
journal = {International Journal of English Teaching and Learning},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {22-33},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijetl.20230101.14},
abstract = {The study investigates the high-stakes English test for the SEE examination, emphasizing a mismatch with the curriculum's language skills and prompting exploration into test design processes and influencing factors. This research employs a qualitative case study approach. The findings reveal a gap between regulations valuing language skills and practical implementation in assessments. The tests are based on traditional testing philosophy, with inadequate standardization in the test items and test inadequate standardization in the test items and test administration. However, the bulk of these evaluations indicated factors including the teacher, the institution, and the students that had an impact on student learning. The four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—are valued by assessment regulations, but our classroom environment and evaluation system seldom put this into reality. Summative public exams, administered externally, lack feedback on teaching and primarily serve student progression. Despite recognizing the efficacy of communicative language instruction, the prevalence of non-communicative approaches in exams raises questions about students' communicative skills development. Although the testing literature is replete with theoretical discussions of test design, reviews, and validation (as seen by the references given previously), there is a lack of attention on how high-stakes language exams are actually constructed, particularly in developing cultures. Tests used in external examinations at various stages of schooling in these civilizations are of special importance. Although public examinations in English and other courses have been utilized in Nepal for decades, there has been little study on how these tests are created, what learning or success is targeted for evaluation, and what repercussions these tests may have for students and their families, the education system, and society at large. The researcher concludes by advocating for the adoption of theoretical advancements in testing within the Nepalese educational system and globally, emphasizing the importance of critically examining discrepancies within regulatory correlation, causation, and inconsistencies between testing and curriculum.
},
year = {2023}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - English Language Assessment in Nepal: Policies, Practices and Problems AU - Rabu Ranjit Y1 - 2023/12/22 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14 T2 - International Journal of English Teaching and Learning JF - International Journal of English Teaching and Learning JO - International Journal of English Teaching and Learning SP - 22 EP - 33 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2997-2566 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijetl.20230101.14 AB - The study investigates the high-stakes English test for the SEE examination, emphasizing a mismatch with the curriculum's language skills and prompting exploration into test design processes and influencing factors. This research employs a qualitative case study approach. The findings reveal a gap between regulations valuing language skills and practical implementation in assessments. The tests are based on traditional testing philosophy, with inadequate standardization in the test items and test inadequate standardization in the test items and test administration. However, the bulk of these evaluations indicated factors including the teacher, the institution, and the students that had an impact on student learning. The four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—are valued by assessment regulations, but our classroom environment and evaluation system seldom put this into reality. Summative public exams, administered externally, lack feedback on teaching and primarily serve student progression. Despite recognizing the efficacy of communicative language instruction, the prevalence of non-communicative approaches in exams raises questions about students' communicative skills development. Although the testing literature is replete with theoretical discussions of test design, reviews, and validation (as seen by the references given previously), there is a lack of attention on how high-stakes language exams are actually constructed, particularly in developing cultures. Tests used in external examinations at various stages of schooling in these civilizations are of special importance. Although public examinations in English and other courses have been utilized in Nepal for decades, there has been little study on how these tests are created, what learning or success is targeted for evaluation, and what repercussions these tests may have for students and their families, the education system, and society at large. The researcher concludes by advocating for the adoption of theoretical advancements in testing within the Nepalese educational system and globally, emphasizing the importance of critically examining discrepancies within regulatory correlation, causation, and inconsistencies between testing and curriculum. VL - 1 IS - 1 ER -
Brac Institute of Languages, Brac University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
