A mixed-methods study of teachers’ experiences of using a standardised language screening to test multilingual students in Austrian schools

Abstract

Given the increasing number of students with migration biography and the educational inequities they face, programmes for supporting school students in developing proficiency and skills in the language of instruction have become more widespread across Europe. In Austria, German language support classes were introduced across the education system in 2018. To determine if a child needs one of these specific programmes, students are tested using a standardised screening tool, the MIKA-D (Messinstrument zur Kompetenzanalyse–Deutsch). In this mixed-methods study, data from two projects are considered to shed light on teachers’ perspectives on this standardised language test. The empirical findings from Study 1, involving a quantitative survey of 814 participants, indicate ambivalence towards the MIKA-D screening tool. Study 2, based on interviews with 13 teachers, suggests that for those teachers, the disadvantages of standardised language screening far outweigh its advantages. The disadvantages include a low general assessment of the meaningfulness of the MIKA-D, the pressure it puts on students and the resulting teaching and learning to the test, the occurrences of cheating, and the fact that students may be forced to repeat a school year as a result of MIKA-D. Furthermore, underlying negative emotions attached to screening are identified.