A case study of washback and test preparation of the new version of PTE academic
A case study of washback and test preparation of the new version of PTE academic
The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A), a widely used high-stakes language proficiency test for university admissions and migration purposes, underwent a notable change from a three-hour to a two-hour version in November 2021. The implementation of the new version has prompted inquiries into the washback effects on various stakeholders. Focusing on a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10), this paper explores washback effects following the revision of PTE-A and the complexity of test preparation through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest a shorter test length is preferred and several different methods are adopted for test preparation which gives evidence to the positive washback. However, participants reported some confusion regarding certain test items, leading to the adoption of construct-irrelevant methods. This, in turn, may affect the face validity of PTE-A. While addressing the literature gap in this field, recommendations for improving the test design to better meet test takers’ needs are provided.
Chinese test taker perception, Washback effects, PTE Academic, Test Revision, Test preparation
Zou, Yi
77d41b6a-1c14-4c78-bcf1-8628097c6dc7
Zheng, Ying
abc38a5e-a4ba-460e-92e2-b766d11d2b29
Wang, Jingwen
cc8084da-aafe-4bb1-8c3e-28fe5da8a1f5
Zou, Yi
77d41b6a-1c14-4c78-bcf1-8628097c6dc7
Zheng, Ying
abc38a5e-a4ba-460e-92e2-b766d11d2b29
Wang, Jingwen
cc8084da-aafe-4bb1-8c3e-28fe5da8a1f5
Zou, Yi, Zheng, Ying and Wang, Jingwen
(2024)
A case study of washback and test preparation of the new version of PTE academic.
International Journal of Language Testing, 15 (1).
(doi:10.22034/IJLT.2024.447992.1337).
Abstract
The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A), a widely used high-stakes language proficiency test for university admissions and migration purposes, underwent a notable change from a three-hour to a two-hour version in November 2021. The implementation of the new version has prompted inquiries into the washback effects on various stakeholders. Focusing on a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10), this paper explores washback effects following the revision of PTE-A and the complexity of test preparation through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest a shorter test length is preferred and several different methods are adopted for test preparation which gives evidence to the positive washback. However, participants reported some confusion regarding certain test items, leading to the adoption of construct-irrelevant methods. This, in turn, may affect the face validity of PTE-A. While addressing the literature gap in this field, recommendations for improving the test design to better meet test takers’ needs are provided.
Text
Zou, Zheng & Wang 2025 PTE A validation
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 August 2024
Keywords:
Chinese test taker perception, Washback effects, PTE Academic, Test Revision, Test preparation
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Local EPrints ID: 494401
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/494401
ISSN: 2476-5880
PURE UUID: 1d639a78-f16f-4904-8321-4b5889298c75
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Date deposited: 07 Oct 2024 17:14
Last modified: 08 Oct 2024 01:46
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Author:
Yi Zou
Author:
Jingwen Wang
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