Bunnisa Pukmai. The relationship between EFL high school learners' scores on teacher-made tests and the Ordinary National-Educational Testing (O-Net). Master's Degree(Applied Linguistics). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2009.
The relationship between EFL high school learners' scores on teacher-made tests and the Ordinary National-Educational Testing (O-Net)
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between
Mattayom 6 (Year12) EFL students performance in English on teacher-made tests
(GPA), and the Ordinary National-Educational Testing (O-NET). Participants of the
phase1 study were 1,039 newly graduated high school students from 13 schools in
Srisaket Educational Area 2. The subjects scores from the O-NET taken in 2007, and
the accumulative GPA of English courses were collected from each school. Statistical
analyses used were Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearsons r),
the Standard Deviation (SD), and the Arithmetic Mean (M).
Results revealed that the students mean GPA was 2.57; whereas, the mean ONET
score was 26.53. The correlation coefficient of scores from these two tests was
low, but it was statistically significant at the .01 level (r =.16, p <.01). However, the
mean scores of GPA and of the O-NET did not correlate if they were compared by the
grading scheme of the Ministry of Education. It was found that subjects mean GPA
was almost twice higher than the mean O-NET score. This indicated that some EFL
teachers, particularly in a large-sized school, might have upgraded or inflated their
students scores for some purposes. In this case, it was to increase the students
possibilities to pass the new university admission scheme.
Semi-structured interviews were employed later to obtain contextual details to
corroborate the first findings. Participants were three specific defined groups: 3 EFL
teachers, 3 high achieving, and 3 low achieving students. Consequently, the results
revealed some possible reasons why the students O-NET scores were low. Most
interviewees stated that O-NET scores were not significant and necessary for some
students who ended their education at this level. Moreover, it was obvious that some
institutes did not require the O-NET scores in the admission procedures. According to
EFL teachers, the schools lack of effective equipments, and instructional materials
could somehow hinder classroom instructions and finally affect the student learning
and performances.