| Summary: | In recent times there has been an increase in the number of overseas students
choosing to study in universities in English-speaking countries. As a result, the
issue of eligibility criteria has become an important one, with measurement of
proficiency in the English language being a key aspect. At present, one of the
most widely used tests for this purpose is the International English Language
Testing System (IELTS). This test is used at Curtin University of Technology
in Western Australia.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how accurate IELTS is as a
predictor of performance and success in the Schools of Business, Science and
Engineering. To do this a small-scale quantitative study was carried out amongst
first-year undergraduate students from diverse non-English-speaking backgrounds who were admitted on the basis of their IELTS score.
The findings show little evidence for the validity of IELTS as a predictor of
academic success, confirming previous research findings which suggest that language is but one of many important contributing factors.
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