(Dis)empowerment Role of Assessment in English Section of Iranian University Entrance Exam: EFL University Students Perspective in Focus

الموضوعات : Research in English Language Pedagogy

Mahbubeh Mahmudi-Nasrabadi ¹ , Omid Tabatabaei ² , Hadi Salehi ³ , Mahmud Mehrabi ⁴

1 - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
2 - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
3 - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
4 - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

تاريخ الإرسال : 05 الخميس , ربيع الأول, 1442 تاريخ التأكيد : 24 السبت , جمادى الثانية, 1442 تاريخ الإصدار : 17 الجمعة , جمادى الأولى, 1442

الکلمات المفتاحية: Messick’s Framework, validity, reliability, Assessment, University Entrance Exam,

ملخص المقالة :

The University Entrance Exam (UEE) in Iran, a high-stakes test in a multiple-choice form, has a significant effect on its stakeholders. This mixed-methods study investigates how freshman TEFL pupils experienced this nation-wide type of assessment and its (dis)empowerment role-taking advantage of Messick’s framework. One-hundred freshmen university TEFL students as participants of this study were conveniently and purposefully selected from Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran state universities. A validated questionnaire and group interviews were utilized to collect the data of this study. The data was analyzed and described through descriptive statistical procedures. Based on the results, Freshmen TEFL students considered the UEE mainly unreliable, while they held positive views towards its validity based on the modules of Messick’s framework. The overall analysis of the results pointed to the disempowerment role of the test. Furthermore, the obtained results underscored the necessity of more performance-based modes of assessment, such as using portfolios to be included in UEE. The results of the study bear useful implications for high-stake test constructors and policymakers.

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