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The Effect of Changing the Domain Sequence in an English Diagnostic Test

The sequence of test domains might affect test-takers’ scores in an English diagnostic test, in particular, for the students whose English language proficiency is low. However, there is a little literature on the relationship. This study investigated the effect of the different domain sequence on test-takers’ scores at a college level. The previous test for a non-curricular English program for beginner level consisted of the domain order: reading, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. In the study, a new diagnostic test was developed based on the results of examining test validity of the test items and instructor interview. The domain order of the new test was modified into the one: grammar, and conversation, and reading which included vocabulary part. 133 students at a Korean university were given both of the tests. The results firstly indicated that examining the test validity resulted in different difficulty of the domain order and unbalanced difficulty assignment. Secondly, a paired t-test showed that there was statistically significant difference between the two means of the test scores. Thirdly, the results of a post-survey revealed that they preferred the order of the new test to that of the previous test. Some suggestions are discussed in terms of the order of test domains and test scores.