Abstract:
The present paper proposes to compare and analyze the results of the University Test of English Language (UTEL) national assessment scheme conducted at the University of Kelaniya in 2012 and the results of the Pre-orientation Program conducted island wide in 2011. The UTEL and the POP are national assessments developed by the Ministry of Higher Education in collaboration with the HETC project. Both assessments are offered to students in Sri Lankan universities. The two tests are different in format, structure and the benchmarks on which they are designed. The UTEL covers all the benchmarks from 0 to 9 while the objective of the POP test was to identify students below, above and at benchmark 4
The paper will present an introduction and an overview to the UTEL and the POP, the designing, implementing and the deploying of the online assessments to measure English skills and finally the results. The UTEL comprised of two online components based on Reading and Listening skills. The productive skills were designed to test suing traditional testing methods in the universities. The POP comprised of four components based on Reading, Grammar, Writing, Listening and used the online method to test all of them. This paper will discuss the results of UTEL conducted at the University of Kelaniya for the first year undergraduates and the results of the POP conducted for the new entrants to all the universities in Sri Lanka. Though the target population is different, the objective of the paper is to analyze the success of the techniques used and the structure of the assessment schemes.
The tests were conducted using a learning management system. This paper sums up the experiences gathered in conducting the evaluation of a large group of students. It will also discuss the suitability of the techniques employed. The findings will enhance the understanding of conducting online assessments to assess English language skills and help develop the method further in Sri Lanka.