Putting a good foot forward: The second step of TELT

The Tertiary English Language Test (TELT) is an English Language test developed at the Hong Kong Institute of Education over the last three years to group incoming students into three proficiency levels as well as screen students from mainland China / overseas who were seeking admission to HKIEd. This paper will report on the process undertaken to revise and redesign the component papers testing three language domains. The revision of the papers was based upon Rasch analysis, using WINSTEPS, of items in the first iteration of the test. The revised version uses a multiple-choice question format for listening, reading and vocabulary. This version was administered to 680 incoming students in August of 2007 over a period of several weeks. Results of the latest version were analysed again using WINSTEPS. The researchers, rather than being expert test designers, were, in fact, neophytes with high-stakes test design, Rasch analysis and WINSTEPS. Nonetheless, the results show a marked improvement in test reliability such that other universities in Hong Kong have now expressed an interest in using TELT as a placement test for their own needs. As well as being generally positive, the results also indicate that validity issues still need improvement. Issues of test design and implementation, as well as an evaluation of the successes and failures of the second iteration of the TELT test will be discussed. Copyright © PROMS 2008.