Examinations and the ESL student – more evidence of particular disadvantages

Abstract

Two years of assessment results from the full‐time MBA of a highly ranked UK business school are examined to compare the outcomes for students for whom English is a second language (ESL) with those for whom English is a primary language (EPL). The results suggest that the overall higher level of higher‐degree outcomes for the EPL group is underpinned by evidence of an interaction between assessment methodology (coursework versus timed, closed book examinations) and assessment outcomes with examinations particularly disadvantaging the ESL cohort in terms of final grades.