Abstract/Summary

The study success of international students in Higher Education (HE) in English speaking countries has been a major concern for both the students and the host universities. However, studies on the predictive validity of established language tests, such as IELTS, are inconclu-sive (for an overview see Daller & Phelan 2013). The present study explores the predictive validity of new test formats that could be used in the admissions process alongside the estab-lished tests to identify students who are at risk. In the long-term these new test formats have the potential to form the basis of a stand-alone admissions test. The formats under investiga-tion are a gap-filling test (C-test) as test of general language proficiency and several measures of lexical richness (Guiraud, Guiraud Advanced, “D”; see also methodology). All measures were taken at the beginning of an academic year to predict the average grades at the end of the academic year (General Points Average/ GPA). In total 107 international students, mainly from China, with a wide range of subjects participated in the study. A multiple regression analysis including hierarchical models shows that the C-test and “Guiraud” have the highest predictive validity. Given the fact that these two measures can be administered quite easily in a short period of time, we conclude that they have clear advantages over IELTS in the prediction of international student’s study success.