Purpose: To assess the oral proficiency of adult English language learners in workplace contexts.

Target: Adult English language learners in the workplace and in job readiness programs; best for students at intermediate and advanced levels.

Method and format: Performance-based; an individually administered face-to-face interview.

Content: Content includes workplace vocabulary and language functions. Test items are aligned with learner competencies related to job skills and job information, social language, and workplace security and customer service.

Administration time: 10-15 minutes.

Levels and scoring: The interviewer scores responses using a 0-1-2 scoring system.

Reliability/validity: "All CASAS assessment instruments undergo rigorous test development and validation procedures and meet the standards of the American Education Research Association (AERA), the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME) and the American Psychological Association (APA). The CASAS Technical Manual contains detailed information about test validity and reliability" (publisher's statement).

Number of forms: One

Materials available: This test is currently being field tested and will be available later in 2004. Training is required for all test administrators. Training is available in the Workplace Speaking Assessment Manual.

CASAS
51551 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 220
San Diego, CA 92123
858-292-2900
http://www.casas.org

ACT COMPASS-ESL Listening Test

Purpose: To assess English listening proficiency of non-native English-speaking postsecondary students for placement in higher education courses or intensive English programs.

Target: Adult English language learners.

Method and format: Multiple-choice format questions delivered through ACT's computer-adaptive COMPASS system, running in a Windows environment.

Content: The test focuses on language used in everyday situations and in academia. Listening tasks increase in difficulty across multiple proficiency levels with the rate of speech, vocabulary, diction, and use of idiomatic and metaphorical language all increasing at higher levels. As listening stimuli increase in length at the highest levels, students are allowed to take notes as they would in a lecture setting. The intent of the test is to measure listening skills rather than short-term memory.

Administration time: Depends on how the administering institution sets up the test.

Levels and scoring: The test is designed to assess skills from word-picture correlation to academic inferential listening. It is effective for placement but not comprehensive enough to assess achievement.

Reliability/validity: No information available from publisher.

Number of forms: One

Materials available: Package includes test materials, proficiency descriptors, reporting/data management material

ACT
500 ACT Drive
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168
319/337-1053
http://www.act.org