IELTS Research Reports

Gaynor Lloyd-Jones, Charles Neame and Simon Medaneywithin the test is important here as the IELTS reading test assesses the candidate’s ability to answerquestions immediately after reading a passage of text. Academic reading, on the other hand, requiresthe assimilation of several texts as a preface to the production of written work that incorporates thestudent’s reading and drafted in their own words. This is a far more difficult task than the IELTSreading test and one for which the students in Rea-Dickins’ study appeared unprepared. The authorssuggest that listening and reading test sub-scores may be better indicators of success than speaking andwriting. Whilst further research is necessary to uphold or refute the findings, the research suggests howtest sub-scores might be useful in selection decisions.2.3 Decision making processes of student selectionA singular example of micro-level research on student selection is found in Banerjee’s doctoral thesis(2003) in which she investigated, via semi-structured interviews, the selection rationales of twoadmissions tutors on the MBA and MA in Politics programmes at a UK university. Banerjee found thatthese admissions tutors did not deal with applicants in the somewhat algorithmic model of selectiondescribed at undergraduate level (O’Loughlin 2008). Their selection decisions represented balancedjudgments achieved through consideration of a variety of criteria, which were sometimes competing,and always considered in concert with one another. This is due, in part, to the fact that applicants,especially borderline cases, do not necessarily demonstrate neatly categorized experiences, skillsor qualifications; applicants successful on one criterion may be borderline on another. Tutors tookinto account previous academic experience and attainment, work experience, secondary education,referees and the completed admission form. Occasionally, admissions tutors interviewed candidatesto probe, refute and validate information on the application form. Evaluating the comparative meritsof applicants therefore required the operation of judgement on a variety of competences, factors andcircumstances including English language proficiency. Only under unusual circumstances or wherethe demand for places is high is the admissions tutor unlikely to face decisions of the type describedby Banerjee. The model of decision making described in this study is compatible with the IELTSrecommendation to admissions staff to employ test scores with some flexibility according to thecircumstances of each case.Banerjee then followed eight NNES students who had been selected by the admissions tutors in thestudy, classifying them according to the degree of ‘academic risk’. Employing student interviewsand critical incident diaries, she found that the admissions tutors’ assessments of risk were sound,those students considered at greatest linguistic risk, reporting more difficulties and time costs insurmounting problems.Two distinct models of selection emerge from these studies. In one, the language requirement is treatedas independent of other selection criteria, a simple accept or refuse decision with little attention paidto borderline cases. In the other, decision making is richly complex, the ultimate choice contingentupon multiple, interacting criteria. The former portrays the tidy world of audit and regulation,apparently free of risk; the latter, the messier reality of everyday life. How these models operate andrelate to each other in practice and in different contexts is a matter of speculation, given the lack ofresearch evidence. It is possible that operations of scale may affect the way university selectionsare made. At undergraduate level, where there are larger numbers of applicants, the process is morelikely to resemble the simpler decision making model. At postgraduate level, however, where classesare smaller and the student body more diverse in age, education, nationality and work experience,then the Banerjee model may be more applicable. In summary, these findings require furtherconfirmation through comparative research in different settings. In particular, probing what factors andcircumstances selection personnel consider when deciding whether or not to offer a candidate a place.138 www.ielts.org