IELTS Research Reports

4 Construct validity in the IELTS academicreading test: A comparison of readingrequirements in IELTS test items and inuniversity studyAuthorsTim MooreSwinburne UniversityJanne MortonUniversity of MelbourneSteve PriceSwinburne UniversityGrant awarded Round 13, 2007This study investigates suitability of items on the IELTS Academic Reading test in relation to thereading and general literacy requirements of university study, through a survey of reading tasks inboth domains, and interviews with academic staff from a range of disciplines.ABSTRACTThe study reported here was concerned with the issue of test development and validation as it relatesto the IELTS academic reading test. Investigation was made of the suitability of items on the test inrelation to the reading and general literacy requirements of university study. This was researchedin two ways – through a survey of reading tasks in the two domains, and through interviews withacademic staff from a range of disciplines.Tasks in the two domains were analysed using a taxonomic framework, adapted from Weir andUrquhart (1998), with a focus on two dimensions of difference: level of engagement, referringto the level of text with which a reader needs to engage to respond to a task (local vs global);type of engagement referring to the way (or ways) a reader needs to engage with texts on the task(literal vs interpretative).The analysis found evidence of both similarities and differences between the reading requirements inthe two domains. The majority of the IELTS tasks were found to have a ‘local-literal’ configuration,requiring mainly a basic comprehension of relatively small textural units. In the academic corpus,a sizeable proportion of tasks had a similar local-literal orientation, but others involved distinctlydifferent forms of engagement, including tasks that required a critical evaluation of material (i.e. moreinterpretative), or which stipulated reference to multiple sources (i.e. more global). The study alsofound a good deal of variation in the reading requirements across the disciplines.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11185