Weir’s research and sampling for EAP assessment


One practical example of EAP sampling in practice, which can act as a useful case study for those working in EAP assessment, relates to the work undertaken by Weir (1983). Weir’s research interest aligned with that of Carroll (in Alderson & Hughes, 1981, p. 67), who believed that content validity could be achieved in the testing of EAP through analyzing test takers and their needs, and using this information to determine the content of tests. Central to Weir’s research was a behavioural analysis of students’ communicative situation in order to determine more accurately what language and communication skills were involved. The main means of establishing content validity was through authentic sampling and representation of the disciplinary domain (Fulcher & Davidson, 2007, p. 6).


Task 5


• Based on what you have learnt from Chapter 2, what is the difference between content validity and construct validity?


• What concerns might arise if there is too much focus on content validity alone?


After isolating the disciplines and the respective demands of degree programmes most frequently studied by international students at the time, Weir wished to explore the viability of harnessing the results of his study in order to construct a test specification (Waters, 1996, pp. 42–44). Weir aimed to build a test which effectively and more precisely reflected target university communication activities and circumstances under which they were normally performed (Weir, 1988, in Hughes, 1988, p. 46). One major criticism of Weir’s focus on the communicative situation is that its preoccupation with content, authenticity and sampling does not address the deeper questions about ability and competence which are now acknowledged as key to construct validity (Fulcher, 1999, p. 223). Furthermore, the difficulty of accurately identifying what constitutes ‘authentic situations’ was also acknowledged.


Weir’s research is relevant to the field of Assessment Literacy as it represents a design for a proficiency test based on sampling conducted through empirical research into student needs. The central view that EAP tests should flow as naturally from needs analysis as the EAP course itself is, however, challenged by Fulcher (ibid., p. 221), who argues that concerns for authentic content should not obscure preoccupation with the main question of how valid inferences are drawn from test scores. Again, this returns the focus back on to construct validity, as discussed in Chapter 2.


Chapter 4: Identifying and sampling the EAP that needs to be assessed


43


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