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[marley'sghost]

Or "Test of English for Academic Purposes". Being developed by the Eiken folks and Sophia U, is supposed to be a new-and-improved English university entrance exam. Anyone have any hands-on experience administering one or any experience with it? Got an e-mail the other day from my company looking for folks to do the speaking part this summer, and sort of curious. We do a lot of moaning about how university entrance exams as they exist reduce most Japanese school English classes into a cram-rinse-repeat-ritual. Is this going to help, or is it just another damn test?

[mitsui]

Just another test except that it is on a tablet. Using the tablet is not hard but what is hard is trying to give the accurate score for the student.
It was developed with Cambridge.

I did the test once but I haven't been contacted about the next test.

[kzjohn]

There are an awful lot of schools these days that let most anyone in--and they don't need a test like this (or they use other filters besides tests). The schools that have enough applicants so that they do need a test will probably continue making their own.

[twowheel]

[kzjohn]

Buried somewhere, I think I may have forms A, B, and C of the ancient Michigan Placement Test.

I wonder how it would compare to anything since, up to and including this TEAP?

[twowheel]

[rtm]

[mitsui]

It is based on the CEFR. It is debatable of whether it is better.
I was at Sophia and it was given to students there.
Basically they outsourced the test.
There were all these teachers from various schools there.

They paid for it by using government money, I think.

[Master Shake]

I attended a presentation in Yokohama on TEAP and was somewhat impressed by what I saw. I'll wager it's better than most of the Japan uni. tests out now.

Japan doesn't need another test, but if they replace the awful translation-focused (e.g. Kyoto's) uni tests with TEAP, it's a step in the right direction.

If a test is well designed and actually tests communicative English ability, high school English teachers suddenly can't use the old "but we have to prepare students for the test" excuse to justify mechanical, rote memorization and translation based teaching of Eng.

[kzjohn]

One difficulty with TEAP is that most small, private uni have multiple paths to entry, at various times (tho some do not need an English test). In addition, schools are jockeying the dates for those so that, to the degree possible, they can attract as many applicants as they can.

So besides the 1st center test, several local schools have tests on the weekends before or after that. The same thing happens again, when, based on the results of the center test, students either choose a 国立大学 for a second test, or choose a late Feb. exam at one or more private schools. (backup choices if they don't make it into a national)

TEAP would need multiple forms to serve all those test dates, if they were sending packaged test kits to each school.

The alternative would be for TEAP to offer a TOEIC/TOEFL-like national administration several times, maybe early November, late Jan., and late Feb. Even then, they'd have to be able to turn the scores around quickly, and lord help them if someone's headset didn't work, or if they suffered some of the other quirks that sometimes happen with a center test.

Still, getting schools to switch and use TEAP would, as they say, be like herding cats. (no offense to cats!)

[marley'sghost]

[mitsui]

You use the tablet and you go by a script which means it is dull.
No spontaneous English. It is testing for dummies.
You ask questions and I think there were cards. You judge their responses in the CEFR format - A1, A2, B1, B2, etc.

The tablet is the focus. It reminds you of what is next. You input the grade too, so you save Eiken money and time.

Sophia University uses it as a way to judge the comunicative ability of the first year students.