Measuring the Validity of a High-stakes English Test in Bangladesh: An Empirical Approach

The SSC English examination is a high-stakes test in Bangladesh because its scores are used to make decisions about the admission, placement, or graduation of students. This study evaluated the empirical validity of the SSC English examination using the correlation coefficient formula by Pearson’s R. The researchers employed a quantitative approach to conducting the research. Data were collected from eight education boards located in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Barisal, Chattogram, Comilla, Dinajpur, Jessore, and Sylhet. The present study used “Simple Random Sampling†while selecting the respondents. The respondents of the study were eighty SSC students. The researcher selected five students from each school. The researcher chose two schools from each education board; one is from a rural area, and another is from an urban area. The respondents were balanced between urban and rural, male and female persons. The findings of the study revealed that the validity of the SSC English test of each education board was subpar. Based on the findings, some recommendations were put forward to improve the SSC English examination in Bangladesh. Notably, the SSC English test items should examine the learners’ cognitive skills, such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning. The question setter should follow the authorized textbook to make a final question to ensure the validity of the test. Moreover, according to the guidelines of the NCTB (2012), candidates’ speaking and listening skills should be measured through continuous assessment. Furthermore, continuous assessment marks could be added to finalize the candidates’ GPA (Grade Point Average) in the summative assessment. The authority ought to train the scorers. The education board should allow the scorers enough time to mark the scripts contentedly to ensure the pragmatism of the test. Moreover, the teachers should teach to the curriculum, not to the test.