High-stakes language tests, migration policy and ethical codes

Description: Increasingly, language test scores are used to make decisions that have a fundamental impact on the lives of people, but we know little about the decision-making processes underlying these practices. This doctoral research will operate at the intersection of applied linguistics, ethics, and human rights studies to achieve three research objectives: Examining the policy literacy of language test developers interacting with policy makers; Gauging the role that test developers assign to existing ethical codes and validity principles in making decisions with ethical implications; Determining whether test developers respect the human rights of all candidates equally in their testing policy.
Promoter(s): Bart Deygers
Researcher(s): Laura Schildt
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2021 - 2025