Job Discussion Forums

[matador]

My boss wants me to make a written level check test to put learners into different levels when they show up at our school He wants to have Beginner,Elementary,Pre-int,int and upper int.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good generic test that I can use? I have been worrying about this all weekend. You advice is really appreciated. Should I do multiple choice/open ended questions/gap fill or what?!?! Its for the Japanese market in Tokyo city (Shinjuku)

[naturegirl321]

multiple choice/open ended questions/gap fill
I would say make up a test according to which books you are teaching from and do a variety of the above.

[guest of Japan]

I agree with Naturegirl. Make about make 5 questions targeting each book you are using for a total of 25 questions.

Target the more difficult aspects of each level so as not to accidently place a student in a course which will be too difficult.

[Sherri]

Firstly I am not aware of any generic tests--sorry! But I think it is better to make your own to suit your school's and students' own needs. Placement testing is tricky, I've done one recently to distinguish between 6 levels, but I was working with 2 other people. I hope you can find someone to help you because it is tough to do on your own. Here are some things to consider:

1. Your test should reflect what your students will be doing in class, so you need to look at the materials you use at each level. Is there a syllabus? If so, you can use this to help you define the level. If not, you will have to make up a syllabus and work out definitions for each level--that is what can students do before they start the class and what should they be able to do when they leave the level. This will help you figure out what kind of information you need to test them on.

2. You mention that it is a written test, but how much of your program is actually written? Is it a 4 skills program? Conversation? Grammar-based? Functional? A purely written test may not give you accurate results if your program is mostly geared around speaking and listening as many Japanese students will score better on grammar-based tests than an interview-style test. Having said that, if your boss wants a written test, then I can understand that it would be hard to change his/her mind.

3. How much time should the test take? Who is going to mark the test? How many test takers will you have at one time? You need to ask your boss about these questions. You do not want a test that is hard to mark--with lots of open-ended questions especially if you have a lot of test takers and markers (who all have to be trained how to mark the test)

4. If you have multiple choice, it is really hard to think of good distractors, too obvious and it is not really a test, too hard or confusing and your test is invalid.

Avoid true/false and the like because students will have a 50/50 chance of getting the right answer, so your test will not be valid. You should have 3 distrators ideally.

5. Think about face validity. The students who take the test have to feel that they have been tested properly and that the test was fair!

6. If you can--and this is so important--you should try out the test on some other teachers first and then on some guinea pig students to help you weed out the confusing and strange. You wouldn't believe how hard it can be just to write the instructions sometimes!

It is a complicated subject and there is a lot more I could write about it. I hope this will give you a start.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear matador:

Here at the school I work for in Russia, we use a 40-question 'multiple choice' test [in combination with other factors] for placement of students in different levels. For scores of 0 - 10 correct answers, we place them in elementary; for scores of 14 - 18 correct answers we place them in pre-intermediate; for scores of 22 - 28 we place them in intermediate; and for scores above 30, the upper-intermediate level.

Of course, this is never black & white. We also factor in things like oral ability, which we determine through a private 15 to 30 minute placement interview with the prospective student. Age and motivation of the student in question are also considered. [e.g., married students with full-time jobs and a family may have less time to devote to homework and studies, so we might recommend the lower of 2 levels if the student's test score is borderline]

Sherri is right; placement testing is tricky business, and there's probably no such thing as the 'perfect' test. However, given the demands of your boss, you will need something to put you on the right track.

Our test is really nothing too special, but the questions are designed to be tricky enough so that guessing will not help too much. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to use it directly as posted below, or make modifications and/or substitutions to best suit your needs. It is not copyrighted.

1. What's _____ name?
a) you b) she c) your d) yours

2. We're Chinese. We're _____ Beijing.
a) for b) from c) in d) at

3. Jane's _____ nice and polite.
a) a b) from c) very d) at

4. _____ a light?
a) Do have you b) Do you got c) Have you got d) Are you have

5. Margaret _____ usually come by bus.
a) isn't b) don't c) doesn't d) aren't

6. They _____ at home last night.
a) aren't b) weren't c) don't d) didn't

7. What _____ you say?
a) are b) have c) were d) did

8. Why _____ crying?
a) are you b) you are c) do you d) you do

9. Where _____ to spend your holidays next summer?
a) you are going b) are you going c) you will d) will you

10. _____ never been to the theatre before.
a) I'll b) I'm c) I can d) I've

11. Seiko watches _____ in Japan.
a) made b) make c) are making d) are made

12. Where _____ when you met him?
a) does he live b) was he live c) was he living d) is he living

13. If _____ I'll tell him you called.
a) I'll see him b) I'd see him c) I saw him d) I see him

14. What _____ since you arrived?
a) are you doing b) will you do c) have you did d) have you been doing

15. Wine _____ made in Italy for thousands of years.
a) have been b) is being c) has been d) are being

16. My husband _____ live in Spain.
a) use to b) was use to c) used to d) was used to

17. If I _____ I would go out more.
a) didn't married b) haven't married c) weren't married d) wouldn't marry

18. I was very _____ in the story.
a) interest b) interesting c) interested d) interests

19. You _____ come if you don't want to.
a) don't need b) needn't c) needn't have d) didn't need

20. I _____ see you tomorrow. I'm not sure.
a) maybe b) will c) can d) might

21. _____ is bad for your health.
a) The smoking b) Smoker c) Smoking d) Smoked

22. I _____ told him if I had known he was your brother.
a) hadn't b) wouldn't c) wouldn't have d) don't have

23. He _____ living there for three years before they found him.
a) had been b) has been c) might be d) could be

24. I wish you _____ all the time!
a) don't shout b) won't shout c) wouldn't shout d) haven't shout

25. By the time you arrive _____
a) he'll leave b) he'll have left c) he leaves d) he left

26. The house _____ built in the 16th century.
a) might have been b) might to be c) might have be d) might have

27. Don't forget _____ me a newspaper.
a) buying b) have bought c) to bought d) to buy

28. Whenever there was a visitor, the dog _____ to the door.
a) will run b) is running c) would run d) was running

29. He is an executive in _____.
a) the car industry b) car industry c) car industries d) car industrial

30. Peter sold his car _____ save money.
a) as a result b) so he c) in order to d) because to

31. He advised me _____ the doctor.
a) when I see b) to see c) seeing d) see

32. I _____ travelling by bus.
a) am not used to b) didn't used to c) used to d) do not used to

33. He didn't come last night. I wish that he _____.
a) had b) did c) have d) has

34. I'm going to a wedding. I need to _____.
a) be cutting my hair b) cutting my hair c) get cut my hair d) have a haircut

35. Which would you _____ have; gold or silver?
a) prefer b) could c) rather d) better

36. My sister has been in the hospital. I wonder how she ______.
a) is getting on b) gets on c) has got across d) is getting away

37. The man said he did not _____ to go by bus.
a) care for b) bother about c) mind having d) much minded

38. Although he confessed to the crime, the judge let the boy _____.
a) alone b) come in c) off d) forgive

39. I've never _____ that word before.
a) gave away b) come across c) come over d) come into

40. The student could not answer the question, so he _____.
a) gave off b) gave into c) gave away d) gave up

PS: Give my regards to Shinjuku! I spent many an interesting weekend cruising around the shops in that area when I lived in Tsuchiura.

[matador]

Thanks, Kent. Your test fits the job very well !

[Ben Round de Bloc]

One of the problems with a generic placement test is that it won't work with every curriculum. If your school's curriculum is based on a particular textbook series -- not saying here "teach to the textbook," only that the textbook is used as a basis for organizing the curriculum -- then the publisher should have a placement test available to fit that particular curriculum/textbook series, based on skills and vocabulary for each level and whether those skills and vocabulary are taught for exposure or mastery. There's no point in reinventing the wheel.

Where I teach, the program is divided into 12 levels, each level a semester in duration. We use a published exam available with our main textbook series to evaluate new students' levels of grammar/usage skills and vocabulary. We also test writing and speaking using published band scales to assess those skills. The listening component of our program focuses on listening comprehension. Currently, we're using a godawful Oxford listening exam which is based on distinguishing between minimal pairs. In my humble opinion, it is as useless as (fill in the blank) as a placement tool to assess listening comprehension.

[PanamaTeacher]

On the issue of placement tests, I give private classes and my students always want to know their "level" and how long I expect the class to last (in terms of hours or months, whichever). I usuallly say it depends on the goals, etc., and I try to give a conservative estimate based on my experience.

Does anyone have a more scientific method of arriving at a student's level and projecting the amount of time needed to "learn" english? Generally my students want to speak and understand English, no more.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear matador:

You're welcome, of course.

Since we're on the subject of evaluation, placement and testing, here's a decent link with lots of **free** grammar quizzes & tests and stuff.

At the very top of the webpage below, you'll also see links to Grammar - E, Grammar - M, and Grammar - D [easy, medium and difficult] with even more tests to choose from.

Here's the link: http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html

Regards,
kENt

[Mike_2003]

Hi Panama Teacher,

I am always asked the same questions by my private students and find it's a "how longs a piece of string?" question. I've had students who have risen from hardly being able to piece a decent sentence together to a reasonable degree of competence in a year, and others who have made little progress.

I try to avoid answering questions like those because ultimately it depends on how reliably they attend their lessons, whether they do the work set for them, how much effort they put into learning, whether they do other things outside the lessons such as reading English language novels, watching English TV or picking up an English newspaper from time to time, and also on their inherent language skills.

I think there are too many factors which lie outside the teacher's control to give a definitive answer. The danger is that if you give them a time period they may hold you to it. If they fail to reach their target level within that time they'll most likely blame you for it. Having a good teacher is only half the battle, you need to be a good student, too.

When teaching groups of students it is readily apparent to the student where the problem lies. If all the other members of the group are progressing nicely, then it is hard for him or her to blame the school or the teacher. This is not the case with private lessons and one dissatisfied student, however unjustified, can give you a bad reputation.

One of the major advantages of private lessons is the ability to adapt the style and pace of the course to perfectly suit the individual student's needs. The student's innate ability and dedication will only become apparent after a sufficiently long period of time so only a fortune teller would be able to give something approaching an accurate answer to such questions before the course has started.

So, in answer to your question, I'd say there is no scientific method of evaluating the time it would take for them to learn English. When faced with this situation I sometimes try explaining this to them but most students don't want to hear it. People like to work to deadlines and schedules and there is always the possibility that they may come to feel that you are stringing the lessons out for financial purposes.

One thing you might try is to divide your course into goals based on certain grammatical concepts or skills depending on your student's needs. Give them a handout near the start of the course and then a predicted completion date for the first "unit". Based on their performance during this first unit you can then fill in the times for subsequent units. If each unit runs over by a week or two, it will be less disturbing to the student than to reach the end of the course's predicted time only to find just half the tasks completed. This schedule will satisfy their need for recorded progress with the advantage that it makes it clearer to them that advancement is largely reliant on their input. Might be worth a try.

Best regards,

Mike

[PanamaTeacher]

Thanks Mike for your answer; it's a comfort to me because I know I haven't done anything too wrong if there is no common method. What happens here is that other teachers/schools do say that they can "teach" English in x months or even weeks and offer "guarantees" which turn out to be more classes if you don't learn. Either because of a tight budget or because they want English in order to apply for a certain job or take a certain test most students shop around for the shortest time/lowest price (of which I offer neither).

What about telling a student his/her level. I roughly have 5 levels:
1-zero (no or low grammar skills)
2-high beginner (some grammar; no or low conversation or comprehension)
3-intermediate (good grammar; some conversation/comprehension)
4-advanced (excellent grammar; solid conversation/comprehension)
5-perfecting (completely fluent--wants to write/take the TOEFL/SAT/GMAT)

Zero and perfecting is the way the students say it, and I have adopted it.

The problem is that I don't have a standard test of some sort to put people in these groups; I do it based on an interview and giving them something to do relating to their interest. Do you think this is a good method or is there room for improvement, i.e. more levels, standard test, etc? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Pan