A is no evident way of quantifying face validity, it could be assumed, due to
the popularity of IELTS being used around the world as a guideline to overall English ability
that IELTS has high face validity. Nevertheless, unlike the TOIEC test that only measures
candidates’ abilities in listening and reading which, in 2005, was dropped by 12 mid-ranking
corporations as a requirement for jobs (Chosun Newspaper, 2005), IELTS has continued to
be adopted by many companies and institutions, as detailed in section 2 of this paper, as a
guideline of candidates’ level of ability in English. Criper and Davies (1988: 99) state that
face validity is high due to the modular approach of IELTS which is very popular among
subject specialists. Despite this, the test itself has evolved considerably and further research into this area could well prove to be a fruitful exercise.