Test review of the English public examination at the secondary level in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper reviews the most important public English examination (matriculation exam) that students take at the end of their secondary education in Bangladesh. The examination is known as the Secondary School Certificate (SSC), which is taken at the end of Grade 10 in the mainstream education in the country. The score of SSC English examination is used as the gatekeeper at the higher secondary (2 years of higher secondary education after matriculation and before tertiary education) and university admission tests. Even though the significance of this English examination is huge from Bangladeshi social, cultural, or economic perspectives, it is highly criticized by the stakeholders and academicians alike. The exam is alleged to fall short to measure the communicative English proficiency of the test users. Accordingly, the reliability of the exam is questionable. However, there is almost no publication or academic paper evaluating the characteristics of the examination which could expand our understanding of the existing problems related to the test. Hence, this review of the SSC English examination examines and describes the features of the examination as it is used in the context from a scholarly point of view, which would constructively pave the way for future researchers.