For the last few years I have been working with an awarding body which, among other things, offers examinations in English for speakers of other languages. In Greece, English language exams are big business: more than a hundred thousand students sit for such exams every year and fourteen different examination bodies have so far had their qualifications recognised by the Greek state.
EFL teachers and language schools in Greece therefore have, one would think, a lot of choice. One would imagine that the teachers and language school owners look at what each exam is about, how the various language skills and/or systems are tested, which exams are more compatible with the syllabus they are following, whether they are appropriate for the age of their students, and so on.
In actual fact, though, the format, structure, content and syllabus of each exam are immaterial! Most schools make their choice of exam to prepare their students for based on a solitary criterion: how easy it is for the students to pass, regardless of their actual level, regardless of the course they have, or have not, attended, regardless of whether they actually deserve to get the qualification that the exam leads to.
And because there are so many exams to choose from, and because the exam market has become a very competitive one, teachers and language school owners actually feel that they can unashamedly voice their demands. Many of them will not hesitate to call or email the academic director of the examination body (in our case, that person is unfortunately me) and say, in so many words: ‘Five of my students took your exam last month and only one passed! I demand that you reconsider your decision, revise the results and pass at least four out of the five. Otherwise, I will not only allow none of my students to sit for your exam again, I will also bring the matter to my language school owners’ association and you will never get any candidates from my area again.’
What I find really sad (not even shocking any longer, just sad) is that these people, who are supposedly educators, are not necessarily aware, on a conscious level, of what they are doing. When I tell them that we are not in the business of selling valueless certificates, they say ‘of course not; I didn’t say anything like that!’ When I tell them that we refuse to be blackmailed into cooking the results to make them more favourable (!) because that would turn our exams into a sick joke and because that would simply be unethical, they are shocked and surprised and start shouting at me ‘how dare you suggest that I am attempting to blackmail you?’
And yet, when I finally suggest to them that perhaps their students are not, after all, at the level they thought they were and perhaps they need more language development work before they attempt an exam at this level again, the standard answer is invariably that they themselves think their students deserve to pass and must pass; otherwise (i.e, if we insist on offering an exam that is valid and reliable and a certificate that actually means something) we should forget about getting any candidates ever again!
Yes, I am aware of the pressure on teachers and language schools to produce certificate holders; I am aware of the fact that teachers and schools are evaluated almost solely on the basis of exam success rates; I am aware of the fact that many language schools are striving to survive in an impossibly competitive post-capitalist environment. But it still saddens me that people who call themselves educators are so cynically demanding that awarding bodies certify that their students know what they evidently do not know simply because these students, or their parents, happen to be paying customers.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
in principle, you are right. although i have never encountered any such behaviour, i know the mentality exists. however, talking as a teacher now, let me just tell you that exam businesspeople (all these people selling exams to schools & students) might be promoting the exact same mentality. i’ve had visits from exam salespersons who know nothing about language testing and its principles. and who sell their exams based on this ‘not-difficult-to-pass’ value. who refuse to act transparently (provision of past papers, exam reports, overall success rates etc). yes, it’s a business- nothing wrong with it. and we (all stakeholders) are also part of it. but this business whould be principled. in your (our) attempt to sell the best product, are you (we) perhaps missing the focus? a good exam will sell no matter what. so make your exams good enough. train us. tell us what the CEFR means. how your exams relate to it. what students should be able to do. simple things. don’t tell us ‘we’ll make the listening easier- would that make our exam more attractive?” you are also ‘educators’, educating the language testing illiterates how all this should work!
May 10th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I couldn’t agree more, Maria: it is very true that examination bodies can be equally guilty and that more often than not our (that is, the examination bodies’) sales teams can, intentionally or inadvertently, consciously or accidentally, promote such attitudes! The cynicism with which some teachers and language school owners demand that their students get good marks, though, is, surprisingly, even more sales-oriented than the spiel of the sales people. And in the last two years I have actually encountered such behaviour very many times!
The only thing I unfortunately cannot agree with is that “a good exam will sell no matter what.” It is simply not true any longer…
May 11th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Dear George,
At last! Big welcome to the community of bloggers! I have been really looking forward to you taking this step!
I am really not at all surprised you are getting these reactions. It is a reflections of the strange twisted way in which Greek ELT has evolved – not unlike the way people get the big contracts (by passing bribes to officials) or the way they pressurize their local MPs to get state jobs, or else!
Changing from such a mindset is nearly impossible. How can it happen when the blackmailer is not even aware of having committed anything inappropriate?
Good opening post though, setting the tone of your blog.
Keep writing
Marisa
May 11th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Thanks, Marisa mou. You guessed right, of course! I WAS setting the tone!
May 11th, 2010 at 12:54 am
VICIOUS CIRCLE! The government has accepted 15 B2 level certificates the last 3 years and we all know how! Parents, don’t want to know the truth about their kid’s learning abilities, so they demand! Examination bodies change the format of their exams almost every 2 years in order to make it more “friendly” something whixh most teachers percieve it as easier. They also promote the exams as the easiest ones! School owners try to have the most certificate holders just to advertise their schools at the beginning of the new school year. They don’t care about which exams their students are going to sit, they can’t see that in the long lerm these students won’t be able to use the language at all! Publishers…well, here’s the stake. Could you name 1 or 2 who don’t promote exams? To make matters worse, the easier their books, the better sellings! easy , easy , easy, and on the other hand parents who want their kids to have a certificate the fastest, if possible form the first year of primary school! soory for the exaggeration, but that’s Greek reality! So, what makes a good exam? reliability, validity and the rest can be added by George.
Thanks a lot
Nora
May 11th, 2010 at 1:00 am
I fear you aren’t exaggerating, Nora!
May 11th, 2010 at 2:47 am
Wow, is this your first post? What a powerful way to enter the blogosphere. Great stuff! Looking forward to learning more about EFL and testing here.
May 11th, 2010 at 7:46 am
This is an international problem, I think. Here in Japan more than a million people take the TOEIC test every year, to prove what? It is billed as a test of English for International Communication, yet candidates are not required to write or say anything. International? It is only in the last couple of years that the listening has expanded to include voices from outside the USA, and it is still limited to the odd New Zealander or Canadian.
That is not to say it is a terrible test. But it is easy to administer, can be marked by computer and has instant name recognition… that is why it is so popular.
There is immense pressure from outside education to test en masse, and this is being perpetuated from inside education by schools, publishers and sexamining bodies who know there is a buck in it.
Heartening news from the UK, though. There is another path!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/10094815.stm
(I like your start, looking forward to seeing more of your blog….)
May 11th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Very familiar mentality – I worked for a reasonably clued-up school owner in Kalamata who nevertheless would excoriate UCLES-as-was when our more promising candidates failed FCE. It never occured to him that they might have lacked exam technique. Με γειά το καινούργιο μπλογκ, and thanks for the link.
May 11th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Great post on a burning issue, George!
It’s been years since I last enjoyed teaching the language without constantly being reminded (by a book, a school owner, a parent, even the students themselves) of an exam…
I absolutely agree with Marisa that changing the current attitude is nearly impossible but because I’m romantic (I’m a teacher, remember?:-))I believe that talking with people and keeping informed is a step forward.
Look forward to more posts!
Ansa
May 11th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Great choice of subject at such an opportune time! No surprise that two of the exams requiring real communication skills and individual input are not so popular in Greece. My students and I are too busy preparing for exams at the moment. Groan! However, I plan on using part of the summer holiday to implement the tools mentioned in Marisa’s eyeopening presentation on “Acquiring Language using Web 2.0 Tools so that the fun, creativity and sharing can truly begin!
May 11th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Great choice of subject at such an opportune time! No surprise that two of the exams requiring real communication skills and individual input are not so popular in Greece. My students and I are too busy preparing for exams at the moment. Groan! However, I plan on using part of the summer holiday to implement the tools mentioned in Marisa’s eyeopening presentation on “Acquiring Language using Web 2.0 Tools so that the fun, creativity and sharing can truly begin!
May 11th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Hi George,
nice, interesting first post. As others have commented above, this is a problem everywhere I’m afraid, and the problem does not simply stop with the directors of languages schools, but also is occasionally apparent in the examiners themselves.
I’ve heard of horror stories where examiners came to blows over a disagreement about what score a candidate deserved (apparently one of the candidates had been taught by one of the examiners)
as well as examiners sending really nasty emails, after a colleague or acquaintance from a different language school got trained up for a different exam, demanding that they too be trained up or else…yadda yadda yadda
John
May 11th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Have a read of Seth Godin’s latest book: Linchpins… but basically the current educational system was put in place by governments in order to create a mass of those those who could obey, follow rules and take no risks: i.e. factory workers.
And when we moved from manual labours to produce white-collar-factory-workers (i.e. business paper pushers)…
the times, they are a changing.
Buy the book, or well, read his blog
Karenne
May 11th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
A great blogpost, indeed!
The main factor underlying the problem is a most shrewd comment you’ve made which, unfortunately, sums up the Status Quo in education. That is, the vast majority of language schools have espoused capitalism. It does sound somewhat cynical I must admit; however, it’s the truth as well as a brilliant rollercoster ride! School owners tend to get into a money-making mindset and ergo hire young, untrained teachers since they cost less and can be very easily manipulated. Consequently, EFL learners are taught that English is nothing more than “just another qualification” which has been god-forsakenly deemed necessary for a future prosperous career. What is more detrimental is that the idea of “learning for the sake of learning” is utterly stripped of meaning and has become H.Miller’s nemesis…
On the other hand, I do not object to it at all. It gives teachers the chance to voice their opposition and, what’s more important, it provides learners with the criteria to draw a distinction between good educators and not-so-good ones.
May 11th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Giorgos/George : )
Welcome to the blog space. May your blog thrive! Great first post. Thanks for putting me on your blog roll – you are now on mine. I wrote something about this over at Critical Mass ELT a while back in a post entitled “A Testing Time for EL Teachers: Some Thoughts About International Language Tests” at http://sjhannam.edublogs.org/2009/09/08/a-testing-time-for-el-teachers-some-thoughts-about-international-language-tests/ which may interest you.
I think the last poster Alexander hits the nail on the head. It is all wrong as it is all driven by the wrong goals a) finish English in time for the university b) a lot of expenditure to external testing agencies at the expense of developing a good home grown variety c) teaching to test d) schools that want to maximise profit with minimum expenditure (supposed quality -vs- obvious lack of resources) e) the powerful position English plays as a gatekeeper to opportunity in Greece and everywhere else. Language exams are very high stakes in Greece so no wonder they attract so much competitition and questionable pedagogy and behaviour.
I also agree with John – this is a problem everywhere. But I think Greece is fairly unique in the amount of testing that is done here and the amount spent on that testing.
Is there a different way? I sure hope so!
Thanks for opening up that discussion.
Good luck in the future!
Sara
May 11th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Wow! I can’t usually check my comments during the day, and I’m a little overwhelmed…
Thank you all for checking out this blog and thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
Vicki, I’m afraid there is more to be said about testing than about teaching English in Greece; not that there is anything exciting happening in the language testing arena, but most teachers are (forced to be) preoccupied with testing at the expense of everything else!
Darren, interesting that the situation is not too dissimilar in Japan! TOEIC is becoming increasingly popular in Greece, too, and I would imagine for much the same reasons, which seldom, if ever, have to do anything with the content or quality of the test itself. And you are right, this is heartening news from the UK!!!
Steven, thanks! You know how much I’ve enjoyed reading your blog for quite some time now. Of course the mentality is familiar, as you’ve worked here; the bad news is it’s got worse: they now don’t just excoriate, they actually phone the examination body they are unhappy with and scream!
Ansa mou, yes, it seems all of us teachers are romantic at heart! Thank you for reading and for your kind words. Let’s keep hoping!
Julie, hi from here, too! I am, actually, not surprised that the more communicative, more integrative tests are not so popular, as (1) they are not easy to prepare for (and therefore more difficult to pass if you are clearly not at the right level) by means of memorisation of formulae and past paper “practice” (2) the popularity of tests, as Alexander and Sara imply, in the post-capitalist economy is more of a function of the marketing expenditure of the “parent” organisation than the nature of the test itself! It is a good thing, though, that some of us can put some of the marketing budget to good use by inviting people like Marisa to give presentations to teachers like ourselves!
Hi John! You are right, of course! The ruling ELT ideology has, indeed, permeated everyone, as ideologies do! I’m afraid I have some horror stories starring examiners, too, as I did some examining for a major testing organisation for quite a few years! You’ve given me an idea for another blog post!
Hi, Karen. Thanks for the tip! I will!
Alexander, welcome to my blog! “and has become H.Miller’s nemesis” – I love that. It is worse than you describe, though, I think: schools have not exactly espoused capitalism, they are an integral part (and even the crutches) of the dying capitalist monster…
Hi Sara! I must admit I had not read your excellent testing times post, as I have only recently started reading you! If I had read it, I would probably have written something different here. Perhaps a discussion we should all return to is “the role these exams play in society at large” and precisely how such discussions (and even thoughts) “are being cut off in the rush to sell the product” as you very well put it in your post!
May 12th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Always happy to read your thoughts Giorgo. Looking forward to continuing this important discussion. Congratulations on such a promising opening post!
April 24th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
I think this notion of just “passing students along” is part of a bigger problem. It seems these days that so much emphasis is placed on not hurting feelings that people get achievements and whatnot without actually earning them
June 29th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I’ve wrestled with this issue for years in the Florida education system. I’ve watched students drop out due to failed exams, and wondered if the exams needed an overhaul. But in the end, it wasn’t the academics themselves, it was the education process…
July 1st, 2011 at 1:47 pm
It’s a bull market for high stakes testing that far surpasses the rush of the early 1970s to test minimum competency. We now call them assessments rather than tests; but the issues surrounding their uses and effects are the same. Assessments “worth teaching to” will bring about better teaching and learning; students will be better motivated; dropout rates will drop and graduation rates increase – or so we are told.