When testing stakes are no longer high: impact on the Chinese College English learners and their learning

Abstract

It is now a consensus that high-stakes testing exerts powerful impact in controlling curriculum and pedagogy, and shaping students' learning. The power of testing is especially strong in contexts where testing culture prevails. The Chinese educational context is such a context which is dominated by competitive tests. The language testing results from large-scale tests, such as CET-4 (College English Test-Band 4), used to be included as a compulsory prerequisite for undergraduates to get their bachelor's degree. Such a requirement has been removed recently to reduce testing stakes for leverage purposes. Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate whether the change will possibly help to impact students and their learning in a positive way. Our study aimed to explore the impact of changes in the stakes of a language test in the Chinese university context. Data were collected through questionnaires from 544 College English students at a university in northwestern China. Our analysis via SPSS 2.3 showed that test-taking was still well accepted and practiced; while reducing the stakes helped to redirect the students towards English learning, it had less impact on their English learning motivation and approaches. The findings also show that the test-dominated environment that is deep-rooted in the macro-and micro-contexts decided the students' responses to this policy change.

Problematising formative assessment in an undeveloped region of China: voices from practitioners

“…While students’ utilitarian approach to assessment results seems to echo their ancestors in the imperial kéjǔ times (Han & Yang, 2001 ), data in this study have revealed that their valuing of examination results is more closely linked with the practical uses to that the results are put. Even though the unpegging of degree with CET-4/6 have reduced some of the stakes, employment opportunities, awards and scholarships in academic or societal settings are realities they cannot afford to ignore (Chen et al, 2020 ). Also revealed in this study is that students’ passivity and reluctance to participate in classrooms, rather than being a stereotyped cultural trait of CHC or Chinese learners in particular (Chen, 2016 ; Carless & Lam, 2014 ), could come from a variety of other reasons such as their habitual reliance on teachers (Su, 2012 ), their personal character, their limited assessment literacy (Wang, 2014 ) and more saliently, their low proficiency level.…”

“…In the higher educational context, where stakes are much lower (Chen et al, 2020 ), teachers’ assessment practices are found to be “complex and situated” (Liu & Xu, 2017 p. 27). For instance, formative assessment prescribed in the CECR (CMoE, 2007 ) was misinterpreted as process assessment (i.e., to record students’ performance in classroom activity, assignment and attendance during the term, and give a grade to be used in the final assessment of the course) at the school-level assessment policy and eventually enacted in classrooms (Chen et al, 2013 ; Chen, 2017 ; Huang, 2010 ; Wang & Wang, 2011 ).…”

Virtual Assessment in English Language Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Considerations in Bangladesh Perspectives

“…The study of Saleem et al (2021) unearths that the students of Pakistani universities had to adopt willingly or unwillingly online assessment method. And most of the participants preferred close-ended and interview/ viva type question format for online assessment, for Chen et al, (2020); Coombe et al, (2020) also suggest setting close-ended items in assessments for its proven benefits. Another study reveals that viva and interview-type assessments are effective and valid because no unfair means is possible in such tests (Ghanbari & Barati, 2020;Nikmard & Mohamadi Zenouzagh, 2020).…”

Gender Effect in Using Strategies for Learning English Language: A Context of Aliya Madrasa Education in Bangladesh

“…Yet, such impact on students learning has been criticized due to the merely test-driven nature of students learning. Chen, Hao & Xiao (2020) noted that changes in the stakes of a language test in the Chinese university context had less impact on students' English learning motivation and approaches. While it was done in a different setting, the participants of the current study could demonstrate a more independent behaviour with their reorientation towards higher education entrance test as the new benchmark.…”