Reconocimiento de fullerenos por el biarilo

Teachers interviewed also made reference to the students’ lack of familiarity with computers and computer-based testing. They felt that, for some students, the poor computer literacy skills may have affected their performance in the OOPT. The relationship between individual characteristics, knowledge and skills of test takers and test performance has similarly been identified in the literature. Gipps (2012, p.126) argued that differential performance may be due to factors in the test itself, since some individuals may have an equal level of knowledge or skill but be unable to demonstrate their full potential because of their lack of familiarity with a characteristic of the test. This might be because of the language used, or artefacts in the illustrations or text, make the task more meaningful to one group but less meaningful to another. Purpura (2007) claims that the OOPT measures test takers’ communicative language ability in order for the exam scores to be used relatively accurately in placement decisions for language programmes that are aligned with the CEFR (www.oxfordenglishtesting.com). Differences in performance between students, however,

could also be linked to students’ previous learning experiences. While some may have been taught English according to a communicative teaching method, others may have focused primarily on grammar and vocabulary.

Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes

The data collected in this study can be understood as subjective, since the descriptions of students and possible issues related to the OOPT need to be viewed from the perspective of

relating to the placement test or regarding factors affecting students’ achievement, but it should be highlighted that this cannot be interpreted as an objective reality. This section therefore, seeks to discuss teachers’ beliefs and attitudes on the OOPT, the modular system and students in the ELI while highlighting that even what teachers present as facts, may not represent an objective reality. It should also be noted that beliefs play an important role in many aspects of teaching and life, and that beliefs influence how information is perceived and ‘colour memories’ in order to ‘frame our understanding of events’ (Borg, 2001).

The questionnaire highlighted stronger views on some of the questions compared to others, indicating that teachers were less unsure about their views on certain items. For example, teachers held strong views on question 9 (science students perform better than those majoring in the Arts), and on question 7 (students from private schools perform better in English compared to those from public schools). They were also in agreement on question 14 (learning English from an early age) and question 15 (the role of motivation).

Unlike other countries, where the choice of specialisation is not so strongly related to students’ ability, in Saudi Arabia students are advised to specialise in the Sciences as early as high school, if they have good results, while they are only offered the option of studying the Arts, if they have lower grades. University admission reflects the same view of the two specialisations and thus, culturally, Science students are viewed as more academic and hard working. It has been previously pointed out that in contrast to the science track, the arts track choice is not encouraged. Furthermore, high school graduates of the science track generally have better HE and employment opportunities. Graduates of the Arts track, cannot enter prestigious university faculties such as medicine or engineering. Additionally, students who lack confidence in their academic ability may select the arts track to avoid more demanding subjects, which are compulsory in the science track (Al-Jabri, 2003).

Among teachers who were familiar with the OOPT, many also expressed strong views with regards to the cultural appropriateness of the OOPT’s content for Saudi students. While some viewed the international nature of the test as an advantage, a number of teachers felt that the content was not culturally relevant. This point is further discussed in the following section in relation to teachers’ views on the validity of the OOPT for ELI students at KAU. The

section, furthermore, reviews teachers’ perspectives on the validity of the OOPT with reference to what they said with regards to the familiarity, fairness and effectiveness of the test in relation to the purpose for which it is employed in the ELI.

Factors affecting students’ test performance

The analysis highlighted a number of factors affecting students’ performance, in the opinion of teachers, both in the OOPT and in the ELI modules more generally. These included characteristics linked to students’ health and wellbeing as well as previous educational experience. O’Sullivan and Green (2011) distinguish between three types of test taker characteristics: 1. Physical / Physiological 2. Psychological 3. Experiential. This categorisation informed the classification of the different factors (see chapter 3).

O’Sullivan and Green’s grouping of the different kinds of test taker characteristics are helpful in interpreting the findings. The interview data, in particular, exposed students’ previous learning experience and motivation as key factors, which teachers regarded as influencing performance in the OOPT and in the ELI modules. The questionnaire results also highlighted the importance of motivation and learning English from an early age.