Constructing a database of item types in English tests conducted at high schools in Korea

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23652130
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Foreign language education
Research Institution	Daito Bunka University (2012-2013) Saitama University (2011)
Principal Investigator	SHIZUKA Tetsuhito 大東文化大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (60270211)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2013
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2013)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	英語テスト / 項目タイプ / 定期テスト / 大学入試 / 韓国の英語教育 / 波及効果 / 大学修学能力試験 / 英語定期テスト / 韓国の高校 / 多肢選択式項目 / 記述式項目 / 韓国 / 英語能力
Research Abstract	Midterm and final examination papers conducted for four English subjects ("English" "English I" "English II" and "English Reading" at three high schools in Korea were collected and the types of items contained in them were analyzed and categorized. The types of items turned out to be quite similar across schools but some differences were revealed across subjects, with more global-comprehension items and fewer word-knowledge items in "English Reading" for third-year students than in the other subjects. The Korean SAT English papers were also analyzed and it was revealed that all of the item types that appeared in the Korean SATs also appeared in the midterm and final examinations. The results are interpreted to indicate strong backwash effect from the high-stakes statewide examinations to teacher-made classroom tests.