Aptis Test System by British Council

According to the British Council Aptis technical report, the Aptis test system is designed to offer users an alternative to currently available high-stakes certificated examinations. The quality assurance and test security requirements of high-stakes examinations often make them fixed in terms of content, and quite expensive for the user.

According to the report, the fact that the Aptis system is not a certificated test means that elements of the quality assurance system normally associated with high-stakes examinations (such as those related to test administration and invigilation) are not the responsibility of Aptis, but of the system user. It is also envisaged that users will be encouraged to work with Aptis to generate evidence in support of the use of the system for the purpose intended by that user. This policy is in line with O’Sullivan and Weir (2011) and Cizek (2011), who argue against conceptualization of consequence as an aspect of validity. Supporters of Messick see the consequential aspect of validity as the responsibility of the developer, whereas the approach applied in Aptis sees it as the joint responsibility of the test user and the test developer.

A complete copy of the report can be downloaded from the following official site:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/documents/aptis-test-dev-approach-report.pdf

Tags: University, College, Admission, British Council, Exams, English Language

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