Institutional responses to academic literacy challenges: An in-house test as an alternative for assessing academic literacy levels

Laura Maria Drennan; Michelle  Joubert; Albert Weideman

doi:10.56285/jltVol58iss2a6269

Laura Drennan University of the Free State, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9416-2590
Michelle Joubert University of the Free State, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5814-4053
Albert Weideman University of the Free State, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9444-634X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56285/jltVol58iss2a6269

Keywords: academic literacy, design principles, language assessment, student placement, validity

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about disruptions to the administration of conventional academic literacy tests, which necessitated alternative ways of identifying students in need of literacy support. In response to this disruption, an existing in-house test was identified as a potential alternative for measuring incoming students’ ability to handle the demands of academic discourse. Such an alternative was necessary for the effective identification of students needing additional academic literacy support and their placement in appropriate faculty-specific literacy courses. Although the first round of institutional piloting deemed the online version of the test appropriate for being employed for these purposes, a further administration of the test was conducted to confirm whether the traditional (pencil-and-paper) version of the test yielded similar results and whether the quality of the test is such that it is appropriate for implementation at an institutional level. This paper compares the results of these two administrations of the test and reflects on the potential value of such an in-house test to achieve and enhance the synchrony between assessment, curriculum and teaching, building on earlier work on this.

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Author Biographies

Laura Drennan, University of the Free State, South Africa

Laura Drennan is currently a lecturer in the Division of Languages, Literacies and Languages at the Wits School of Education. She previously served as the Head of the Writing Centre at the University of the Free State, where she specialised in academic writing development. She obtained her doctorate in English Language Studies and academic literacy development. Her research interests include language teaching and learning, academic literacy, academic writing development, and language testing.

Michelle Joubert, University of the Free State, South Africa

Michelle Joubert is the head of the Academic Language and Literacy Development at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of the Free State. Previously, she was an academic literacy curriculum coordinator at Durham University, UK and a Fulbright scholar. Her areas of expertise include academic literacies, academic writing and reading development, curriculum design, professional identity and positionality, multilingualism, and language teaching and learning. She has a doctoral degree in English, specialising in academic literacy development.

Albert Weideman, University of the Free State, South Africa

Albert Weideman is Professor of Applied Language Studies at the University of the Free State. He is the chairperson of the Inter-institutional Centre for Language Assessment and Development (ICELDA), and the deputy chairperson of the Network of Expertise in Language Assessment (NExLA). His research focuses on how language assessment, course design, and policy relate to a theory of applied linguistics.
Professional website at: https://albertweideman.com

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Institutional responses to academic literacy challenges: An in-house test as an alternative for assessing academic literacy levels

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