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The Validation Process in the IELTS Reading Component: Reading Requirements for Preparing International Students
Although IELTS is coordinated under a framework for test development and validation, there
is some controversy about exam results’ correlation with students’ post-admission intellectual,
academic and professional performance. The theoretical part of the research aims to investigate
the extent to which the IELTS reading component relates meaningfully to interpretations
of validity. The empirical part addresses questions about perceptions of the impact of the
IELTS reading preparation on adjustment to the challenges of academia and further academic
performance and variances in these perceptions depending on the area of study and the level of
language mastery. While having quite different views on assessing IELTS validity, the researchers
agree that academic success is enhanced through and based on extensive substantive reading.
The methodology relied on both qualitative and quantitative data derived from an anonymous
online questionnaire: 133 international students with Russian citizenship, Global Education
Programme (GEP) finalists, participated in the survey in summer 2017. Five different result
interpretations were taken into account: overall results, those for sciences and humanities,
higher and lower achievers’ results. The discussion is built around test-takers’ opinions on the
IELTS exam, the reading component and scores. The issues discussed include, but are not limited
to: reading strategies, information sources required at university, tasks effectiveness, exam
preparation usefulness to academic adjustment and its influence on academic achievement,
its resourcefulness for the formation of linguistic capabilities, and respondents’ perception of
extra factors for exam success. Potentially increasing jeopardy of negative washback is shown
as an emerging problem. Although test-taking ability is not depicted as a crucially important
factor affecting exam success, it is increasingly significant and its harmful effects may be
expressed in illusionary higher levels of validity due to visually improved results. Quality
preparation for the reading test can train a number of essential skills required in academia;
however, preparation itself does not appear to be a significant factor for smoother adjustment
to academic challenges, as it is highly dependent on preliminary linguistic background. There
is a necessity to communicate broader information to learners through the IELTS handbook,
website and other communication channels. EAP tutors should encourage their students to
make efforts to cover the subject without framing it within boundaries of measurement, but
with a clear understanding of future academic and professional challenges.