ERIC Number: EJ1247682
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2229-0443
EISSN: N/A
The Effect of a National Education Policy on Language Test Performance: A Fairness Perspective
Song, Xiaomei; He, Lianzhen
Language Testing in Asia, v5 Article 4 2015
"Project 211" is one of the most important educational policies in China, which aims at selecting a small number of "key universities" for sustainable development in the 21st century. These selected "key universities" have received substantial funding from the government so they can recruit outstanding faculty and be equipped with high quality facilities. Although this national policy has come into being for more than a decade, limited empirical studies have been conducted to examine how the policy influences students' performance as well as whether the policy is perceived to interfere with test fairness. Using differential item analysis (DIF) and content analysis, this study examined the effect of group membership (key vs. non-key universities) on one of the large-scale high-stakes language tests--the Graduate School Entrance English Examination (GSEEE). The results identified a number of DIF/DBF, all favoring test takers from key universities. A review of the flagged items by three test reviewers found a myriad of potential factors including unbalanced learning opportunities, which may contribute to performance differences between two groups. However, none of the reviewers deemed that unbalanced educational opportunities brought bias and presented a threat to fairness. Fairness in this context is conceptualized to require individuals or groups who are less well-off to sacrifice social benefits and resources to those who are better off to achieve the overarching aim of maximizing economic benefit to the society.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Educational Policy, Public Policy, Language Tests, High Stakes Tests, College Entrance Examinations, Graduate Study, Test Items, Item Analysis, Content Analysis, Graduate Students, Test Bias
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A