| The main focus of the study is on test-takers' accounts of their perceptions of a high-stakes test (the CAEL Assessment): more specifically the relationship between test-takers' proficiency and accounts of their perceptions of the test. The test-takers' accounts of their perceptions that were taken into special consideration were test difficulty, fairness, the entire testing experience, etc. The findings of the study suggest that test-takers' perceptions of a high-stakes test can be affected by a number of characteristics (e.g. test-takers' proficiency levels, test-takers' immediate pragmatic goals for taking the test, test-takers' emotional state during the test, test characteristics, etc) and can provide valuable insights about what tests actually do. Test-takers' perceptions are useful resource for test development and use. |
