ISSN 2414-8385 (Online) European Journal of January-April 2017 ISSN 2414-8377 (Print Multidisciplinary Studies Volume 2, Issue 4 Are We Ready to Pilot a New Test Format for English Language Matura Exam? Mimoza Berisha Thaçi ITTT Diploma in TESOL Course – Research Assignment Abstract Much of the debate about school improvement and raising of educational standards in Albania revolves around the issue of providing external standard tests which cannot allow students to be discriminated but allowed to receive equal opportunity to be assessed professionally in varying areas of English language. Being part of the National Agency of Exams, and part of standard testing service staff, it is obvious that taking the new challenges that education system is facing in consideration would be indispensable. The questions discussed are: What is to be changed; Based on what; What new features should the State Matura Exams (the foreign languages exams) have in Albania; Are the teachers and students prepared for this? This research paper will be focused on answering such questions and giving a clearer view on what has happened and what will happen with Matura Exams in Albania, especially with English Language Test. The aim of this paper is to see whatever has been applied and will be applied in future in State Matura Exams (external national standard assessment) based on concrete evidence. Keywords: Albania Pilot New Test Format English Language Matura Exam Introduction How did State Matura Exams start in Albania? (The political aspect) State Matura represents not only an important element of the educational system reformation, but it has urged and laid down positively the reformation of some other links of the system, their harmonization to ensure quality and high standards as permanent objective of the education. Which were the factors that urged and accelerated the reform of State Matura? The results of the entrance examinations for universities lost the reliability, because in many cases they didn’t correspond to the level of the acquired knowledge in high school. The well known and unacceptable situations of letting out the secret and the test trade years ago were the top of the iceberg of the corruption size which had spread into some academic institutions, which had shaken their integrity. Such a corruptive climate favored the informal business of tutoring private unlicensed courses and which did not pay taxes, from the professors known for the preparation of the university entrance exams. The internal assessment, without denying the honest and devoted work of the most of the Albanian teachers, did not respond to the results of the inspecting, and sometimes, it represented some conflict of interests between the teachers and their evaluation (grades). State Matura didn’t express directly the government’s responsibility and commitment, the veracity of the evaluation of the results of our educational service, creating in this way an equalizing system of evaluation which didn’t take in consideration the differences of the schools’ levels and the differences between different regions of the country. All above mentioned, and the lack of the transparency shook the confidence of the public and the tax-payers not only to the educational system, but to the whole system itself. Right for this reason, the creation and the application of State Matura represented a major and big step to stop the crisis and to get out of it; it helped to regain the public’s confidence to the system based in work and merits. 88 ISSN 2414-8385 (Online) European Journal of January-April 2017 ISSN 2414-8377 (Print Multidisciplinary Studies Volume 2, Issue 4 State Matura Exams represented a system of examinations (2 plus 2) which means two compulsory exams and two optional ones. They were performed in written form to avoid the subjectivism in evaluation as much as possible. For the first time in the system of examination, were applied optional examinations, in the form of a group of subjects that allow each candidate to make his own choice to continue the university based on his wishes, vocations and the gained grades. The external assessment was the core of the novelties and the reform of State Matura which represented an objective assessment was central and impartial which expelled the conflict of interests and corruptive tendencies. Though State Matura in its gist was a system of examinations with external assessment, it didn’t expel, but included the school evaluation which is an average synthesis of all the results during all the school years of the high school and this one forms 20% of the general evaluation, and its specific weigh could grow with the consolidation of the system. State Matura 2006-2010 was enriched with ”Merit-Preference” element for a better connection of the offer with the level of each student preparation, so to avoid the endless turns of registrations in preceding Matura Exams that let the doors open to the corruption. The optional exams included five foreign languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian). To design tests for these languages, tests specialists have been based on National Curriculum for foreign languages and on the Framework of the European Languages. The priority of our government has been decisive to make English language an official language, so its weight in schools programs has been the same with that of compulsory subjects such as Albanian language and literature and Mathematics. It hasn’t been easy to design standard tests for different types of schools and students levels. The level of teaching English differs from a region to another one. It depends on the qualifications the teachers of English language have. Since 2006, State Matura Exams in Albania have been applied in different formats.(The technical aspect) In 2006-2007, all tests (Albanian Language and Literature, Mathematics, English language, and other subjects such as Physics, Biology, History, etc) were multiple-choice format (50 questions - 50 points) In 2007-2008 was kept the same test format; 50 multiple-choice questions - 50 points. In 2008-2009, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the National Agency of Exams decided to change the format of the National Matura Exams. Open-ended questions would be included in the tests too. That was seen as a better way to really diagnose students’ proficiency level in reading and writing; because the previous format resulted as not reliable because of a great number of students punished for cheating during the test-taking. So, this was a good way to reduce the possibility to cheat. The test contained 10 items of multiple-choice format (10 points) and 10 open-ended ones (30 points). There were 40 points in total, not 50 as in the previous Matura Exams. What changed? A better test administration More reliable test results The psychometric analysis showed that some open-ended in Reading Comprehension were not practiced at schools at the level they had to. So, teachers got their message: they had to treat such questions (critical thinking questions) more seriously and thoroughly. This issue had a profound effect on the training needs of in-service teachers. The changes resulted necessary, but at the same time costly. NAE engaged 60 -100 teachers to be a part of test correction procedures; while in previous Matura Exams they were corrected automatically. Tests specialists needed to be trained on construction of open-ended questions and their scoring. From 2010-2013, except English language and French language which were the only ones to be tested on Matura Exams (optional exams), other foreign languages were included in National Matura Exams (optional exams), German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Turkish languages were included too. The table below shows some important aspects of National Matura Exams in foreign languages, in Albania. 89 ISSN 2414-8385 (Online) European Journal of January-April 2017 ISSN 2414-8377 (Print Multidisciplinary Studies Volume 2, Issue 4 National Exams (optional exams) during 2010-2013 Foreign Languages Exams School year 2010-2011 School year 2011-2012 School year 2012-2013 Language Nr. of The Nr. of Nr. of The Nr. of Nr. of The Nr. of partici average students participant averag student participant averag students pants grade who s in the e s who s in the e grade who failed in the failed test grade failed test test English 10453 7.07 24 12080 7.1 78 13673 7.2 132 French 112 7.4 0 404 7.3 5 378 7.6 2 Italian 1344 6.9 6 1381 7.6 6 1690 7.5 21 German 62 7.3 0 71 7.9 1 138 7.9 4 Note: The Passing grade is 5; 10 is the highest. The other languages are not included in the table because of the minimal number of students who has taken these tests. Some facts on English Language Test as compulsory and optional tests in Matura Exams from 2006-2014 In State Matura 2006, the English Language Test contained 20 questions (20 points) on reading comprehension, 25 questions (25 points) on Grammar and Vocabulary, and 5 questions on Writing. English Language Test was an optional test at Level B1 (CEFR). In State Matura 2007-2010, the English Language Test contained 9 questions of multiple-choice and open-ended format on reading comprehension which carried 16 points; 10 questions of multiple-choice and open-ended format on grammar and vocabulary, which carried 18 points and 1 question on Writing. English Language Test was an optional test at Level B1 (CEFR). In State Matura 2011-2013, English language started to be treated in two tests: English Language as a first language (a test which had to be