An investigation into the challenges faced by international school teachers when interpreting the results from standardised tests

Abstract

This study aims to identify factors that could affect the validity of the inferences made when large-scale standardised tests are used in international schools. These tests are exported in that they are administered to a population which is different to the one for which they were designed.

Document analysis identified some areas where construct-irrelevant variance might occur. The transitive nature of international school populations can lead to disruptions in student learning trajectories. There are potential differences in the curriculum that is used to develop the test and those used in international schools. International school populations are also linguistically and culturally diverse.

Interviews conducted with a small number of international school teachers found that these teachers can lack the skills necessary to interpret the score reports that provide the feedback from testing. It is the test user who bears the responsibility for establishing the validity of any inferences made from exported tests. The lack of skills of such educators raises concerns about their ability to assess the validity of inferences that can be made from these tests.

The study contributes to research on the use of standardised on linguistically and culturally diverse populations as well as the ability of teachers to interpret information from testing data.