The KPG within the Greek public school context.
Of the six main kinds of language test the KPG is categorized as a proficiency test. It is a formal type of testing outside the formal education setting. Its purpose is neither summative assessment, that is to test how much of the syllabus has been learnt, as it is the case with achievement tests, nor to assist learning as a formative assessment tool (KPG Handbook, 2013· West, 2004). As West (2004) mentions, proficiency tests have a washforward effect, meaning they try “to establish whether the students have the necessary level and type of language to undertake a task in the future” (p.24). As such the KPG is mainly used by its holders as a credential for employment (KPG Handbook, 2013).
In the public school context the KPG test – Level B (B1&B2) – will be used by the English language teacher as a formative type of assessment, to assess 1st grade High school students’ abilities in the target language. The objective is to diagnose students’ strengths and weaknesses and accordingly plan a syllabus for the whole school year. The choice of using this specific test was made due to the fact that it is addressed to “Greek users of the foreign language and takes into account the social circumstances for its use” (KPG Handbook, 2013, p.20). That is, language is not disembodied but it is used for social purposes.