The British Council and IELTS - more revelations

Our specialist IELTS examiner correspondent writes:

Dear David,

Last December I wrote to you about my experiences concerning the British Council's monitoring of its own IELTS Test Centres. I explained that I had communicated with both Cambridge ESOL and the British Council detailing my concerns about the administration of IELTS at a particular British Council IELTS Test Centre. I received statements of concern about the "integrity and security of IELTS" yet neither Cambridge ESOL nor the British Council told me what, if any, action they were taking. They wouldn't even tell me whether they considered my concerns to be justified. My last emails went unanswered.

Then I discovered the Freedom of Information Act (FOI). Under this Act the British Council, as a Public Authority, is obliged to provide information to members of the public - unless the information falls under exemptions specified within the act. I therefore asked for all audit reports for the previous 3 years.

The British Council FOI Unit sent me two audit reports. The second report was a follow up audit to the first, made because the original audit showed many major problems.

The reports do not make happy reading. Despite the fact that over 20% of the first report was withheld as being exempt (I am currently disputing this), it shows an appalling level of compliance. Of the 202 criteria audited no less than 96 were not met. On top of this, 86 were deemed to present an unacceptable risk - 51 a 'significant' risk. When I asked for the date of the audit immediately prior to this I was told "there were no IELTS audits carried out prior to those you have been provided information on". This particular British Council IELTS Test Centre had been running for over 15 years - without being audited!

Whilst the results of the audit are clearly unacceptable, I was equally disturbed to discover some areas weren't checked properly. For example, the timing of the audit meant that only weekend Speaking interviews were checked - and, at that particular centre, these take place under very different conditions from the majority, which are conducted during the week. Much worse than this, my main concerns were not addressed at all. I had raised many issues concerning offsite testing, including the failure to pre-register candidates, and these were potentially even more serious than those at the main centre.

What does this tell us? If these audit reports are representative, and I suspect they are, we can conclude:

1). The British Council audits its own IELTS Test Centres. There appears to be no independent monitoring at all, not even monitoring by a different IELTS Partner.

2). British Council IELTS Test Centres can go many years without being audited at all and, when they eventually get an audit, the results may not only be appalling but important areas - even those previously notified to them as being a problem - are not checked at all.

3). If an IELTS examiner/invigilator raises concerns about a Test Centre these concerns are not acted on and no feedback is given. This shows a serious lack of transparency and accountability, even within the organisation itself.

These issues raise very important questions about the reliability of IELTS test results.

It's interesting to note that, had I been given the feedback I originally requested, I would have treated it according to my responsibilities as an IELTS examiner/invigilator; i.e. I would have had a duty to respect the confidentiality agreement I had signed. Now the situation is different. The information I have received in the audit reports cannot be considered to be confidential as it is available to any member of the public who cares to ask for it. Also, it was supplied to me as a member of the public rather than as an IELTS examiner. I am, therefore, under no obligation to treat the information in confidence. I feel a greater responsibility to inform the public of my concerns regarding the reliability of IELTS test results and that is why I am writing to you in the hope that you will publish this in your blog.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Pennington

Comments

[Mole in the Ministry]

Not only is IELTS perhaps unreliable, but it is quite evidently a money making scam for all concerned. British Council offices around the world are making huge profits (surplus, as they call it - how can a charity make a profit?)from their exams businesses, of which IELTS is a mainstay. In many countries, the British Council has a monopoly on IELTS. In other countries, the ability to produce a suitable IELTS result form is a criteria for UK visa acceptance - surely not a case of the Cilla's paymasters (the FCO) helping to ensure a steady flow of candidates? I think we should be told.