An evaluation of the English Language component of the mature students' entrance examinations into selected Ghanaian Universities

Abstract

In Ghana, there are two main ways of gaining admission to the undergraduate university system. These are the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations. The latter examination is mainly conducted internally by the universities in order to select the successful applicants for enrolment. This is on condition that the test takers have prior working experience in the fields that they want to attain their respective certificates and aged twenty-five years and above. This study mainly sought to evaluate the nature and scope of the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations into selected Ghanaian universities. The present study adopted the multiple case study design as its primary technique. The sources of data used were responses from in-depth interviews and the past questions of the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations. Thematic content analysis and document analysis were employed to analyse the data. Berry’s (2018) test development model underpinned this study. The sample for the study (mainly the lecturers who set the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations questions and the past questions of the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations) were drawn from six universities. It was found that the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations fell short of both the WASSCE and the IELTS standards in areas such as the uniformity of the questions set, the basic language skills tested, the criteria used for setting the questions and the topical areas (competences) tested in the examination. It is recommended that a formal regulatory body be formed by Ghana’s Ministry of Education to control and coordinate the English language component of the Mature Students’ Entrance Examinations as WAEC does for the WASSCE in order to enhance the standards of the examination.