IELTS Research Reports

Introductiontheory (e.g. the application of IRT and item-banking), test administration (e.g. production of multipleversions for fixed date sessions), and the currency and recognition of IELTS in an increasingly globalisedworld and among a wider set of test stakeholders (e.g. the use of the test for professional registration andmigration purposes).The evolutionary development of ELTS and IELTS is well documented by Alan Davies in his 2008volume Assessing Academic English, Volume 23 in the UCLES/CUP Studies in Language Testing series.Davies analyses the many and various factors that shape the development of any test within a givenhistorical and socio-cultural context, including our understanding of language and of language learningprocesses and outcomes, as well as of the nature of assessment. What is important is that any test task (oritems) should be consistent with a likely focus for responding to the input material and should encouragetest takers to engage in appropriate cognitive processes that bear some relation to the processing thatwould typically take place in the world beyond the test. Validation studies such as those in this volumehelp the test producers to confirm an appropriate match between task input, cognitive processing and taskoutput. In recent years the joint-funded program has specifically encouraged research into the nature ofthe cognitive processes underlying the tasks in IELTS, and the relationship of these to activities beyondthe test in the world of academic study (see, for example, Volumes 6 and 9). Insights from funded studiesfeed directly into the ongoing production, review and validation of test materials for Academic Readingand Writing, and will naturally inform future revision projects for these modules.In summary then, the contents of Volume 11 deal with contemporary themes of direct relevance not justto the IELTS test producers and other IELTS stakeholders but also to the wider language teaching andtesting community. An overview of each contribution in this volume is given below, together with somediscussion of its implications for the IELTS partners and for the future development of the test.1 An impact study into the use of IELTS by professionalassociations and registration entities: The UnitedKingdom, Ireland and CanadaGlenys Merrifield focuses on an important area for investigation to have emerged in recent years– the increasing use of IELTS for professionals seeking registration or membership of professionalassociations. This study was designed to examine language testing for professionals in three globalmarkets: the two traditional markets of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a relatively new market,Canada. Merrifield’s study helpfully builds upon her earlier research investigating similar issues inAustralia, New Zealand and the United States of America (see Merrifield 2008 in IELTS ResearchReports, Volume 8; see also Read and Wette in IELTS Research Reports, Volume 10, 2009).The objectives of Merrifield’s follow-up study were: to examine the history and rationale for selectingIELTS as a language benchmarking system for professional associations; to explore the main competitorsto IELTS in global testing for professionals; to determine the minimum band scores being used as criteriafor professional registration or membership, the decision-making policies and the perceptions of itsfitness for the purpose; and to identify potential risk factors for the test in future. The methodologicalapproach adopted involved desk research and semi-structured, interviews conducted face-to-face, bytelephone and by email with key staff in over 20 professional associations across the three countries (UK,Ireland and Canada).At the outset, Merrifield describes the global context at the start of the 21st century in which broadeningpatterns of communication and the removal of borders between countries and cultures have led toincreased mobility for professionally trained individuals wishing to migrate and seek work in theirchosen profession in English speaking countries. She notes how English language competency in theIELTS Research Reports Volume 119