Language testing

Placement Procedures 2

Placing the students into levels of study that were as homogeneous as possible in order to facilitate the overall teaching and learning of ESL. to that end, the ELI had quite naturally develoved its own placement procedures. these procedures were not based entirely on the placement test result, as is the case in some language programm. in additional to the test scores, we used the information gained from the initial screening, as well as the second-week diagnosis and achievement procedures that came later. using all this information helped insure that we were being maximally fair to the students and that they were working at the level that would most benefit them.

The English Language Institute Placement Test (ELIPT) was a three-hour test battery made up of six subtests: the Academic Listening Test, Dictation, Reading, Comprehension Test, Cloze, Academic Writing Test, and Writing Sample. Placement into the academic listening skills courses was based primarily on the Academic Listening Test and Dictation, while placement into the reading courses was based on the Reading Comprehension Test and Cloze, and placement into the writing courses was based on the Academic Writing Test (multiple-choice proofreading) and Writing sample (composition task). We had systematically designed our tests so that two subtest scores could be used for each of the three skill areas: one was discrete-point in nature and the order was integrative. We felt that having these two types of subtests for each skill areas provided us with two different views of the students' abilities in each skill. Besides, we insured a more human touch by doing the placement of students in a face -to -face interview with a member of the ELI faculty. The interviewers had all information that they might need (including the student's record, TOEFL scores, but also on other information in the student's records and any information gained by talking to the students.

The purpose of each test is to show how much ability, knowledge, or skill the students have. The resulting scores are then used to place students into levels of study or perhaps exempt them entirely. Teacher will need tests that are general in nature designed specifically for the types and levels of their students, as well as for the goals of their program. The ELI students were placed in each skill on the basis of a complete set of placement procedures.

Second-week diagnostic procedures.

The tests that were used in the second week of the classes were provided by the ELI. One teacher was given 10 hours per week release time for the sole purpose of developing and improving these test. This teacher worked with other lead teachers (one of skill area) and the various grouping of teachers within the skill areas to create CRTs for each score.

CRTs in two forms (A and B) were produced for each of the courses. These CRTs were designed to measure the specific objectives of each score. The tests were administered in a counterbalances design such that half of the students took from a at the beginning of the course while the other half took. Form B, at the end of the course, all students took the opposite form. This counterbalancing was done so that students did not see exactly the same test twice. Procedures should be put in place to help students and their teachers focus their efforts where they will be most effective, because many teachers may find themselves using such diagnostic procedures for purposes of checking to see if their placement decisions were correct, but also for identifying and diagnostic student’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to the course objectives. Diagnostic procedures are usually made along the way as the students are learning the language, while achievement procedures come into play at the end of the course.