An Investigation into the Cognitive Validity of the Speaking Section of the Vietnamese Standardised Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP.3-5)

The Vietnamese Standardised Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP) test, which was developed within the scope of the National Foreign Languages Project of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (the NFLP), is a measure of English language proficiency from CEFR B1 to C1 levels. The mission of the NFLP is to enhance foreign language education in Vietnam, especially English education, to prepare for the economic growth of the country. The four-skill VSTEP test is among the outcomes of the NFLP and is important and critical to the accomplishment of the said mission of the NFLP. This study was designed to craft a validation study for the VSTEP in relation to cognitive processing of speaking. The cognitive processing model applied in the language domain of speaking was studied following the socio-cognitive framework developed by Weir (Language testing and validation: an evidence-based approach, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Validation evidence was elicited via various methods of document analysis, focus group interviews, test score analysis, survey questionnaires and stimulated recall interviews. Together the techniques were designed to study the extent to which the cognitive processes that the VSTEP speaking test takers are supposed to have in test conditions resemble the ones in non-test conditions, which is reflected in the target construct of the test, input, test format and the test tasks. The results of the study found evidence that establishes the cognitive validity of the VSTEP speaking section following the speaking cognitive processes introduced by Field (Cognitive validity. Examining listening: Research and practice in assessing second language, 77–151, 2013) in the socio-cognitive framework developed by Weir (Language testing and validation: an evidence-based approach, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Further, the cognitive demands were calibrated in the speaking rating scale to reflect the proficiency levels presented in the descriptors of the scale, and the cognitive processes that the test takers went through in the test condition resembled the ones in non-test conditions. These results provide significant implications for the commissioning of the VSTEP speaking tasks, the calibration of the VSTEP rating scale and the administration of the VSTEP test.