Abstract
This case study looks at results of students who took English as a foreign language achievement tests in their Years 4–6 (ages 10–12) at Chongqing Nanping Primary School (CNPS) and analyzes them between 2010 and 2013. The students, as they used different course books, were divided into two groups: PEP English and Oxford English. The investigation of the test papers and scores of the students in the two groups has yielded the following findings: (1) As shown in the test component, in lower grades of both groups, CNPS put more emphasis on speaking and listening than comprehensive abilities; (2) For the language areas assessed, the PEP English Test prioritized vocabulary and grammar while the Oxford English Test devoted many items to assessing communicative skills; (3) Both groups had high achievers; however, students’ performances showed moderate decline as the grade went higher; (4) In-depth interviews with teachers revealed that students and teachers were more motivated in the Oxford English group. The test scores also indicate that this group performed better than the PEP English group.
This article was supported by grants from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China in the project: A study on Regional Foreign Language Education Planning. The project number is CQDXWL-2012-074.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
1.1 Interview Questions
For Test Writers Only
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1.
Briefly illustrate the procedure in which you design the test paper.
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2.
Explain how you divide the test paper into three components. What is the rational in developing each component?
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3.
How do you decide which test format or task types to use? Why is multiple choice item the most frequently used?
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4.
Why does the PEP test cover more grammar and vocabulary than the Oxford test which has many items assessing function-notion?
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5.
How do you ensure the quality of the test paper?
For All the Interviewees
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6.
Explain how the test is administered and scored.
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7.
As users, what do you think of the tests? What do you like or dislike about the test?
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8.
Explain why students’ performance decline over the years. What are some of the factors?
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9.
Why, from your understanding and observation, do students in the Oxford English group perform better than those in the PEP English group?
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Peng, J., Zheng, S. (2016). A Longitudinal Study of a School’s Assessment Project in Chongqing, China. In: Nikolov, M. (eds) Assessing Young Learners of English: Global and Local Perspectives. Educational Linguistics, vol 25. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22422-0_9
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