The EF English Proficiency Index as an international large-scale assessment

A Critical Cultural Political Economy Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID7785686
AuthorsAdeline De Angelis (0000-0002-5115-1031, SIT Graduate Institute, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume23
Issue2
Pages478-491
Publication date2025-03-15
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobalisation Societies and Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1476-7724 • E-ISSN: 1476-7732
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14767724.2023.2165477
OpenAlexW4319841589
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited23

This paper employs a Critical Cultural Political Economy of Education perspective to examine how, why, and to what effect the English proficiency rankings of a for-profit edu-business acquire the authority often granted to international large-scale assessments. Analysing the EF English Proficiency Index in the context of Ecuador illustrates how the global trend to quantify and compare outcomes can impact an area of education not directly touched by traditional large-scale tests. I argue that this index disseminates a falsely objective negative judgement of Ecuador’s English proficiency, and advances private interests under the guise of a quest for improvement and social good

Geography · Judgement · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Law · Second Language Learning and Teaching

Tools

Open DOI