Test Validity (or Justification) and Beneficial/Negative Consequences
Almost finished a submission on a major theme of my Lit Rev: current paradigms in Language Test Validity. I'm looking at what Lyle, (Bachman & Palmer, 2010) has to say about "unintended detrimental consequences". I've got to reframe that for the language test score = indefinite leave to remain discourse. A language test like this is unlike any other. For example, say a student needs IELTS 7.5 to get her place at a UK University. Let's also agree, just for now, that IELTS scores have been fully justified/validated, and that the University admissions department knows full well, using past experience, that anyone with less than 7.5 will be unable to keep up, submit essays of the required standard, and will not graduate. Maybe they know that because until a few years ago the bar was set at 7.0, and they had a whole load of mushkila situations with L2 students. So our student gets 7.0. This looks like a "detrimental consequence" for her. She re...