The Measurement of Proficiency of High School Graduates

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Date

1982-06

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

The historical development of the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) - the transition from the General Certificate Education Examination (GCE) to the ESLCE and the creation of a new curriculum suitable for the Ethiopian context has been thoroughly discussed. Several attempts have been made to change the form of the ESLCE English examination from a subjective type to an objective one and to s implify the difficult items. Arguments for and against the subjective and the objective tests by various concerned people have been briefed in the review of literature . But the various attempts have not changed the situation any better. As a policy , the purpose of the ESLCE has been stated that the examination, at present, serves as a hi gh school completion as well as college entrance examination. No substantial inquiry has been made regarding the dual nature of the examination . Due to its dual purpose, the writer of this thesis has attempted to make a survey study of the effectiveness of the ESLC English examination as a pro f iciency t es t , and if necessary to propose an alternative approach. Discussions are opened on the theories and princi ples of tests. Out of 758 freshmen students enrolled for the 1981-2 second semes ter, 350 students have been selected for the study. Data have been collected for the 1980 ESLCE and the 1981 F _'eshmen English r esults by using a table of random sampling. Using the model of linear correlation coefficient attempts have been made to find out whether the 1980 ESLC English results and the 1981 Freshmen English results of the Same students correlate or not. Findings show that the relation between the two examinations is very low. Those students who have obtained good gr ades in the ESLC English examination do not seem to show good English l anguage performance at the University. Findings, therefore, prove that the ESLC English examination is ineffective in predicting the English language performance of twelve grade leavers when they join the University. Conclusions are arrived, based on the results, that the ESLC English examination is ineffective as a proficiency test on the grounds that (a) it cannot serve as a criterion for admission to the University. (b) it cannot be a measure for predictin~ students ' language performance at the University level. To avoid such ineffectivensss, the writer recommends as a possible alternative approach that the Ministry of Education and the Univer sity should set two s eparate examinations - the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and COllege Entrance Examination (GCE) respectively, specifying the forms, contents and purposes of the two examinations. The writ er makes it clear that the conclusion is not final and perfect and sugges t s tha t further r esearch and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, materials, quality of teachers , methodology etc) are urgently needed before moves ar e taken .

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Keywords

Measurement of Proficiency

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