Exploring challenges of preparing authentic English language tests in secondary and preparatory schools: The case of Gamo, Gofa and Konso zones in Southern Ethiopia

The main objective of this research was to study challenges of preparing authentic English language tests in Ethiopian six secondary schools. The focus was to assess current challenges in the preparation of authentic and communicative language tests. To this end, interviews and FGD with English language teachers were made and hence, 61 teachers were taken as the sample for the study from six secondary schools: Arba Minch, Chamo, Konso, Chencha, Gidole and Sawla secondary and preparatory schools using available sampling technique. Finally, the finding of the study shows that teachers have problems in preparing authentic language tests because of six main challenges: Large class size, student’s low motivation, teachers’ language proficiency, the test setting and absence of authentic materials.   Key words: Challenges, test, authentic test.