Fairness and social justice has been the subject of much discussion in educational research, and concerns about fairness are paramount in the milieu of high-stakes admission testing. This study explored stakeholders’ perceptions of the fairness of a high-stakes graduate school admission test, the Graduate School Entrance English Examination (GSEEE) that decides whether students may have a chance to gain admission into master’s programs in China. By interviewing three groups—program administrators, English teachers, and test-takers, the study found different groups had different knowledge about the test. While there was much fairness concern regarding item quality, standardized administration, and scoring practices, the three groups expressed their acceptance and support toward the use of the GSEEE. In the end, the paper questioned whether the GSEEE truly achieved its selection purpose, given its flawed estimates of test-takers’ English proficiency due to unfair treatment in item quality, administration, and scoring, as perceived by those participants.
Keywords: Test fairness Stokehold perceptions High-stakes testing Chinese Graduate School Entrance English Examination Chinese Graduate School Entrance SystemAmerican Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
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