Browsing by Author "Tabassum, Anika"

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    Pandemic Precipitousness: The Predictive Validity of The Duolingo English Test for Student Success
    (2023-06) Tabassum, Anika; Tweedie, Gregory; Kaya, Jean; Delanoy, Nadia
    Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duolingo English Test (DET) was not widely known, and few universities were accepting DET test scores as proof of English language proficiency (ELP) for student admission. Whereas IELTS, TOEFL, and PTE tests have been considered standardized tests based on empirical evidence against academic success in an English-speaking postsecondary environment, the predictive validity of the DET is less researched. Based on this novel situation, this present study compares the measures of ELP for academic achievement and investigates the predictive validity of the DET. This study uses the Assessment Use Argument (AUA) as its theoretical framework, and with a quantitative approach, analyses the correlation between DET scores and student academic performance utilizing Pearson’s correlation coefficient at a large Western Canadian research-intensive university. As with many other measures undertaken during the pandemic, the DET’s adoption occurred with little, if any, consultation with stakeholders most impacted by the decision. Nevertheless, an analysis of students who demonstrated ELP by using the DET for admission (n = 75) was shown to achieve higher Grade Point Averages (GPAs) than those students who demonstrated ELP by IELTS or TOEFL. The correlation between a higher GPA and admission via the DET was seen to be moderate, but statistically significant. The weak predictive ability of IELTS and TOEFL as indicators of student academic performance in this present research confirms the findings of most previous findings. While wider conclusions need to be drawn cautiously given the relatively smaller number of students admitted using DET (n = 75) compared with IELTS (n = 1161) and TOEFL (n = 212), the findings of this limited study may raise questions about the time, cost and inconvenience of more widely known international language tests, given their weak predictive ability of GPA, compared with the relative ease of the DET and its better predictive ability. Additional research is recommended on larger datasets of students demonstrating ELP via the DET, in order to further confirm the findings of this present study.