Exploring The Connection Between The Testing Of Reading And Literacy: The Case Of The MUET

Lee King Siong

Abstract


The Malaysian University English Test (MUET), introduced in 1999, is a potentially high-stakes test because of the fact that it is a mandatory requirement for admission into public universities. It was introduced with the aim of bringing about a higher level of English proficiency, especially crucial for those entering university. The paper focuses on the impact of the Reading component on literacy, and examines four factors that are perceived to affect the impact of the MUET, namely: 1) the perceived status of the MUET, 2) the sociopolitical situation, 3) the teacher/teaching, and 4) the test construct. It concludes that the reading construct in the MUET Reading component is inadequately operationalized and suggests that the construct be reviewed in the light of long-term literacy goals.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alderson, J.C. (2000) Assessing Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Alderson, J.C. and Hamp-Lyons,L. (1996) TOEFL preparation courses: a study of washback. Language Testing13 (3), 280-297

Alderson, J.C. and Wall, D. (1993) Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics 14 (2). 115-129

Bachman, L.F. and Palmer, A.S. (1996) Language Testing in practice Oxford: Oxford University Press

Cheng, L. (1997) How does washback influence teaching? Implications for Hong Kong. Language and Education 235 11(1), 38-54

Frederiksen, N. (1984) The Real Test Bias American Psychologist, March, 193-202

Gipps, Caroline V. (1994) Beyond Testing: Towards a theory of educational assessment. London: The Falmer Press

Heath, S.B. (1991) ‘The Sense of Being Literate : Historical and Cross-cultural Features’ in P.D. Pearson, R.Barr, M.L. Kamil, and P.B.Mosenthal (Eds) Handbook of Reading Research Vol II. New York:

Longman, 3-25 Kern, Richard (2000) Literacy and Language Teaching. Oxford University Press.

Latham, H. (1877) On the Action of Examinations Considered as a Means of Selection. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell

Lee, King Siong (2004) Reading into our Reading Tests in Wijayasuriya, Basil and Fatimah Hashim (Eds) Reading Connections Petaling Jaya: Sasbadi Sdn Bhd ,128-140

Lee, King Siong and Wong, Fook Fei (2001) Making washback work. The English Teacher (MELTA) Vol XXIX March 2001, 12-22

Li, X. (1990) How powerful can a language test be? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 11 (5), 393-404

Madaus, G.F. (1988) The influence of testing on the curriculum. In Travers L. (ed) Critical Issues in curriculum ( 87 th yearbook of the Society for the study of Education) Part 1. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 83-121

Messick, S. (1989) Validity. In Linn, R.L. (ed) Educational Measurement 3 rd edition, American Council onEducation/Macmillan, New York, 13-103

Popham, J. (1987) The merits of measurement driven instruction. Phi Delta Kappa May, 679-682

Shohamy, E. (1993) The power of tests:the impact of language tests on teaching and learning (NFLC Occasional Papers) The National Foreign Language Centre, Washington D.C.

Shohamy, E., Donitsa-Schmidt, S., Ferman, I. (1996) Test impact revisited: washback effect over time. Language Testing 13 (3) 298-317

Street, B.V. (1984) Literacy in Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Spolsky,Bernard (1995) Measured Words: The Development of Objective Language Testing. Oxford: OUP

Sunday Star, Malaysia 27 July 2003

Wall, D. and Alderson, J.C. (1993) Examining washback: the Sri Lankan Impact Study. Language Testing 10 (1), 41-69

Venezky, R.L. (1990) Definitions of Literacy. In Venezky, R.L. et al (Eds) 1990 Towards Defining Literacy. Newark,D.E. International Reading Association

Urquhart, A.H. and Weir, C.J. (1998) Reading in a second Language:Process,Product and Practice. Longman.

Wallace, C. (1992) Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Watanabe,Y. (1996) Does grammar-translation come from the entrance examination? Preliminary findings from classroom-based research. Language Testing 13 (3), 319-333


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

eISSN : 2550-2131

ISSN : 1675-8021