ERIC Number: EJ822294
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jan
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0951-0893
EISSN: N/A
Co-Certification: A New Direction for External Assessment?
Newbold, David
ELT Journal, v63 n1 p51-59 Jan 2009
The major European testing agencies have calibrated their exams to the levels of language proficiency described in the Common European Framework (CEFR). In Italy, where the Framework has been enthusiastically embraced, external exams are now frequently used within the state education system as they are believed to provide reliable, widely recognized, independent assessment. But although these exams vary greatly, it is not always easy to find one which is entirely appropriate for a specific learning context. This article describes an experiment in "co-certification", in which the University of Venice worked with Trinity College London to make an existing exam more appropriate for university students. This involved replacing "creative writing" with "critical writing" in the portfolio and the controlled written exam, and ensuring a "university dimension" for the oral interview. The article reports on the modifications, and reflects on the project as an agent for change in teaching programmes. It concludes that there may be other contexts in which co-certification is both possible and desirable.
Descriptors: Writing Tests, Foreign Countries, Certification, English (Second Language), Language Proficiency, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Language Tests, College Instruction, College Second Language Programs, Test Construction
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy; United Kingdom (London)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A