IELTS Validity for Overseas University Admission; A Case Study of Indonesian Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

IELTS as one of English language assessment tests plays a crucial role for international university admission. The number of Indonesian students who study in overseas is increasing and the majority of foreign universities requires IELTS test result as mandatory document for applying to university. As primary English test for abroad university entry, an issue is raising about the predictive validity of IELTS as English test toward the International students’ academic performance. Since there has not been a single study of Indonesian students’ views on IELTS test, this study would focus on Indonesian students as international students in abroad universities who are still studying or who have completed their study. This study therefore aims (I) to investigate the comparison of Indonesian students’ academic performances with the different IELTS scores as abroad university admission and (II) to unpack the Indonesian students’ point of views of their IELTS score on their learning performance in abroad universities. To achieve the aforementioned research questions above, the mix-research methods were implemented in this study. A quantitative method was employed to outline the comparison of Indonesians’ academic achievements with the different IELTS backgrounds and a qualitative research method was also used to reveal the Indonesian students’ narrations on IELTS and their study performance. Sixteen Indonesian students or alumni of international colleges participated as research subjects in this study. The participants studied in various countries, which were mostly dominated by European countries such as United Kingdom and Netherland or other countries like Turkey and Australia. The research subjects were diverse in term of age, gender, education background, and occupation. Most of them completed their study abroad for master degree or doctoral degree. The data was gathered through casual questionnaire and open-questionnaire. The questionnaire was employed to find out the personal information of the research subjects and to collect the data of their IELTS scores and the GPA (Grade Point Average). Then, the open-questionnaire was used to collect the Indonesian students’ voices and thoughts about the IELTS effect toward their study performance in abroad universities. The study revealed contrast findings from both quantitative and qualitative method. The numeric data of quantitative displayed the standard deviation of GPA with 0.26 and IELTS with 1.87. While the mean ranks of IELTS which have been classified into three scores; 6.5,7.0 and 7.5 showed different mean value with 5.93, 8.63 and 12. Furthermore, the average mark of GPA from 5 participants with IELTS 6.5 is 3.75, 4 people with IELTS 7.0 is 3.56 and 7 subjects with IELTS 7.5 is 3.44. It is therefore reinforced by the Kruskall-Wallis analysis result that showed the significant value of 0.93. This confirms that IELTS does not contribute to the academic accomplishment of Indonesian students in abroad universities. However, the descriptive qualitative design depicted a different outcome. From the open questionnaire, majority of Indonesian students affirmed that IELTS have given positive benefits to their study performance at the foreign colleges. The implication of this study is beneficial for the Indonesian students who are willing to pursue their higher education in another country, the EFL teachers who particularly focuses on teaching language tests such as IELTS and the stakeholders of language assessments. Furthermore, the suggestions for the future studies with relevant issue are highly recommended. It is expected to have deeper studies with the more number of participants or deep investigation of specific IELTS section on students’ education performance.