Abstract
This study aimed to develop an English speaking test and evaluation criteria for usage in Japanese high schools. It was conducted with the cooperation of 78 high school students and five high school teachers. The test was created with the following two main features. Firstly, the test had both presentation and conversation style tasks since the new Course of Study (MEXT, 2018) regards ‘ happyo (presentation)’ and ‘ yaritori (conversation)’ as different skills. Secondly, conversations between two students instead of student-teacher interviews were included. Statistical analyses revealed that the test was generally reliable and valid, although concerns were raised about the variation in rater severity for the assessment of the presentation task and the potential influence of the partner’s ability on the score of the conversation task. Also, the survey results indicated that most teachers and students had favorable impressions about the testing method.
