International Journal of Language Testing

International Journal of Language Testing

Assessing Test-Taking Strategies of IELTS Test-Takers: Development and Validation of an IELTS Test-Taking Strategy Questionnaire

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors
Masoomeh Estaji 1
Zahra Banitalebi 2
1 Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/ijlt.2022.146984
Abstract
The measurement of test-taking strategies and practices, mostly studied through qualitative methods, has been an important aspect of language testing and assessment research. The current study examines the test-taking strategies of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test-takers and reports the process of designing and validating an IELTS test-taking strategy questionnaire. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire with 62 items was developed and piloted on 534 IELTS test-takers. To ensure its validity, the questionnaire results were analyzed through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (EFA and CFA). The final 49-item instrument with eight factors, “test-management (TM)” and “test-wiseness (TW)” strategies in each skill, had adequate psychometric properties. The findings revealed positive correlations between TM and TW strategies, representing strong correlations between Reading TM and Listening TM, Reading TW and Listening TW, and Listening TM and Speaking TM. The developed questionnaire can serve as a diagnostic tool to monitor test-takers’ performance and strategies, mainly in high-stakes tests like IELTS.
Keywords
Factor analysis
Questionnaire design
Test-management strategy
Test-wiseness strategy
Validation
International Journal of Language Testing
Volume 12, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 59-81