IELTS Research Reports

Gaynor Lloyd-Jones, Charles Neame and Simon Medaneylevels, a few as low as 4.5 (Brown, 2008). The band score 4.5 falls between the Modest user (5) who:‘has partial command of the language’ and the Limited user (4) for whom ‘basic competence is limitedto familiar situations’ but who ‘is not able to use complex language’ (Table 1). It appears that UK HEIscurrently accept a wide range of English language proficiency as judged on test score requirements foruniversity entry.The array of entry test scores may express the contextual sensitivity to disciplinary, programme andinstitutional diversity which IELTS encourages HEIs to employ when setting test score requirements.That these figures represent broad guidance only is evident when searching individual HEI websiteswhich reveal variation in entry requirements within, as well as between, HEIs. Higher scores and/or specific levels on sub-scores may be demanded for research students, specific programmes and,occasionally, for postgraduate study. The diversity may also be a means of dealing with problemsthrown up by dependence upon a fixed score entry requirement such that the degree of change inunderlying measurement is out of proportion to the consequences. This situation is a familiar one ineducation since it is analogous to pass-fail assessment decisionsThere is, however, another explanation for the range of test scores, particularly those at the lowerend. Several UK HEIs have embraced internationalisation strategies in which the development ofacademic English departments features. These departments may participate in selection, be responsiblefor delivering pre-sessional or foundation courses and provide ongoing support during degree study.Pre-sessional courses aim to ensure that students with borderline entry scores attain the requiredproficiency at the start of the programme and go someway to explaining why UK HEIs accept lowerentry test scores. It is worth noting that students who participate in pre-sessional course at theiradmitting institution are not always required to sit a formal English test at the end of the period oflanguage study. Furthermore, it has been estimated that an improvement of one band score requiresfull time study of 200-300 hours (Gillett, 2008).The purpose of this brief review of UK HEI entry requirements is to draw a broad brush picture ofthe current state of regulation and guidance in the area. It is not intended to provide comprehensivecoverage of the entry requirements for UK tertiary education. The wide range of acceptable Englishtest scores is, perhaps, surprising and prompts questions about selection processes more generally.What is clear, though, is that regulatory information cannot reflect the actual selection decision makingprocess, the criteria employed or the rationales for the judgments made. A case can therefore be madefor exploring selection rationales in greater detail in order to examine the relationship between degreestandards and linguistic proficiency.2 LITERATURE REVIEWThe internationalisation of higher education literature is extensive with a bias to the studentperspective, in line with much current UK higher education policy. Apart from the specialised seriesof IELTS Research Reports, relatively little research has explored the academic staff perspective,especially in the areas of academic practice not directly related to teaching and learning or of thepedagogic consequences of classes of mixed nationalities, cultures and English language proficiency.The literature review is divided into three sections by topic: predictive validity studies of the IELTStest; studies of the use of formal test scores in entry to higher education and finally, a recent study ofpostgraduate student selection at a UK university.136 www.ielts.org