ESL students’ perceptions and experiences of standardized English writing tests

The present study interviewed 16 international students (13 from Mainland China and 3 from Taiwan) in a Canadian university to explore their perceptions and experiences of two standardized English writing tests: the TWE (Test of Written English) and the essay task in LPI (English Language Proficiency Index). In Western Canada, TWE is used as an entrance test for international students who speak English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) whereas LPI is required, in many post-secondary institutions, for all incoming ESL/EFL students and some native-English-speaking students whose final English mark from high school is below a certain level. As international students, all participants in the study passed TWE but many took LPI repeatedly before passing it. At the time of the interviews, five still had not passed LPI. Relevant findings illustrate that many participants passed TWE by relying on memorization of writing samples whereas they failed LPI because they lacked skills in constructing their own texts. The participants’ complaints about culturally biased essay prompts in LPI and a lack of understanding of what is expected of LPI also raise questions about the validity of the test from the students’ perspectives. The study generates pedagogical implications for standardized writing tests involving ESL undergraduates from various cultural backgrounds.