Is the Common Test for University Admissions in Japan enough to measure students’ general English proficiency? The case of the TOEIC Bridge

Language Testing in Asia

Table 9 Correlation coefficients between Center Test or Common Test and private tests

Study	Entrance exam	Private test	Reading	Listening	Total^a
Otsu (2014)	Center Test	TOEIC	-	-	.80
Otsu (2014)	Center Test	TOEFL ITP	-	-	.70
Eiken Foundation of Japan (2015)	Center Test	TEAP	-	-	.80
Eiken Foundation of Japan (2015)	Center Test	STEP Eiken^b	-	-	.89
Kamiya (2017)	Center Test	TOEFL Junior Comprehensive	.78	.75	.86
IIBC (2021)	Common Test	TOEIC Bridge	.55	.49	.62
IIBC (2022)	Common Test	TOEIC Bridge	.59	.56	.67
Present study	Common Test	TOEIC Bridge	.55	.65	.73

^aTotal refers to the added score of reading and listening except for Kamiya (2017) and the present study, which refers to the added score of the four skills
^bSTEP Eiken is a test to measure English proficiency conducted in Japan. The test is currently divided into seven levels, five of which measure four skills whereas the other two (the lowest levels) measure the receptive skills only