Teaching to the test: The effects of coaching on English-proficiency scores for university entry

Despite arriving with the required language qualifications, many international students struggle linguistic demands of a university degree. Using International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an example, this study explored how short but intensive preparation programmes may affect high-stakes English-proficiency test scores which apply for places. The participants were 89 Chinese speakers foreign in Shanghai. They tested twice, four weeks apart, on IELTS and three other measures ability: Oxford Online Placement Test, vocabulary test, speed accuracy sentence comprehension. Between two testing points, 45 underwent testspecific training consisting previous papers, offered by large test-preparation establishment network over 1,000 centres. remaining 44 did not engage any at time. Teaching to led half band rise above gain from repetition alone, suggesting that was effective. Importantly, generalise ability; groups performed similarly all tests both times. This suggests test-specific, curriculum-narrowing courses could be inflating places, important consequences test-developers, universities students.