Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language - Charting Classroom Growth - How Often Should We Assess the English Performance of 11 and 12-year-old Children - A2 Key for Schools Practice Tests

Aug 29, 2026

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The study examines whether three A2 Key for Schools practice tests from Cambridge Assessment English—administered to 11–12-year-old learners in Argentina over three consecutive years—measure genuine growth and yield meaningful scores. Data from 80 students are analyzed across Reading and Writing, Listening, and time gaps within the school year. Results show no significant differences in average Reading and Writing performance, but some significant differences in Listening. The study argues that tight test succession may produce too little measurable growth, and emphasizes aligning repeated testing with instructional feedback.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research Purpose and Context

Standardized Practice Tests and Assessment Papers

Research Questions

Background on Practice Effects and Repeated Testing

Pedagogical Implications

The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language Charting Classroom Growth: How Often Should We Assess the English Performance of 11 and 12-year-old Children? November 2021 – Volume 25, Number 3 Maria Belen Buttiler Michigan State University, USA <[buttiler@msu.edu](buttiler@msu.edu)> Abstract In this study, I investigate whether three A2 Key for Schools practice tests from Cambridge Assessment English for 6th-graders (11-12 years old) in Argentina measure growth and produce scores that are meaningful. Drawing data from three consecutive years, I analyze the scores of 80 children over a school year and consider whether the tests are beneficial for both students and teachers in terms of time and instructional impact. In this English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, the results show no significant differences among the students’average performances across the Reading and Writing section of the practice tests and some significant differences across the Listening practice tests. I discuss the affective, pedagogical, and curricular implications and argue that because the tests are administered in tight succession, growth may be too small to measure. It is important for teachers and language program coordinators to ensure that the testing they do benefits instruction and positively impacts students in language classes. This is because testing should serve and inform instruction. In this study, I suggest how other teachers in charge of their elementary and middle school assessment programs can do similar analyses to ensure their students’ language evaluation programming is maximally beneficial. Keywords: Language assessment, standardized tests, young learners, repeated testing A popular saying states that “practice makes perfect”, meaning that it is possible to become proficient in an activity or a skill if one exercises regularly. It refers to the idea that the more someone practices, the more likely they are to excel. But how often does an apprentice need to practice in order to improve certain skills? How much do practice effects impact the students’learning process? It is generally believed that the more exam practice foreign language learners TESL-EJ 25.3, November 2021 Buttiler 1 do, the higher the chances of passing a test. Some researchers have pointed out that if students take the same or a similar exam more than once, they may obtain a higher score the second or third time, without necessarily showing improvement in the skills measured (Davies et al., 1999) . In addition, as Green and Van Moere (2020) more recently claimed, language learners and instructors “may use repeated test taking as an opportunity to identify and exploit features of the test design with the intention of maximizing scores rather than improving target abilities”(p. 479) . Therefore, repeated testing may not necessarily reflect an increase in language proficiency. Many foreign language instructors and coordinators have their students take practice tests numerous times in preparation for standardized assessments such as Cambridge Assessment English tests. An increasing body of research has examined language testing in relation to young learners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts (Bailey, 2008; Butler, 2015, 2016, 2017; McKay, 2006; Menken, 2018; Molloy, 2015; Nikolov, 2016; Wolf & Butler, 2017; Wolf et al., 2008; Wolf & Farnsworth, 2014) . However, there is little systematic research on the impact of repeated language testing and the effects of elapsed time between tests taken, especially in young learners (Cho & Blood, 2020; Green, 2005; Gu et al., 2015; Knoch et al., 2020; Lin & Chen, 2020) . Even though repeated exam practice can be seen as preparatory and not analytical and students enrolled for an official exam may benefit from this practice, children may experience anxiety and frustration if the test scores do not show measurable progress. This is why it is important that practice is accompanied by oppo

FAQs

How many A2 Key for Schools practice tests are analyzed, and for what age group?

Three A2 Key for Schools practice tests are analyzed for 6th-graders aged 11–12 in an EFL context in Argentina.

What do the results show for Reading and Writing versus Listening?

Average performance differences are not significant for Reading and Writing, while some significant differences appear across Listening practice tests.

Why might repeated testing fail to show measurable growth?

Because the tests are administered in tight succession, the study argues that students’ growth may be too small to detect, and scores may reflect test familiarity rather than improved abilities.

Aug 29, 2026

Upload by Riley