Students’ Perception on a Standardized English Proficiency Test to Determine Their English Level at LTC at a Private University in Yogyakarta

English placement tests have been commonly used in higher education as
post-admission assessment instruments to measure admitted English as a second
language (ESL) students’ English proficiency or readiness in academic English.
However, numerous studies showed that it is still common for students to face
some challenges in taking an English Proficiency Test (EPT) as a placement test
which to determine their English level. This research aimed to examine the
students’ perception on the use of standardized EPT as a placement test in
Language Training Center (LTC) at a private University in Yogyakarta.
Furthermore, this research is to know how should a placement test for English
classes be properly conducted as perceive by students based on the students’
perception. Descriptive qualitative approach was adopted in this research, with
five students of International Relation of a Private University batch 2017 as the
participants that were chosen according to several criteria. The data were gathered
through standardized open-ended interview. The results of this research revealed
that students felt agreed that LTC on using the EPT test to determine their English
level for the placement test in English classes is an effective. Afterwards, some
students’ said that the EPT test that LTC use as a placement test was good enough
to use in this private University in Yogyakarta.