Teacher Discussion Forums

I'm new to this forum, but have enjoyed visiting the eslcafe.com website for quite some time.
Currently, we are using Oral BEST for placement of our students. I need to compare testing data. My students test very low upon entry, then posttest high. Is this common?

Since production (actually speaking the language) is frequently one of the later stages of development for L2 learners, oral tests aren't such a great indicator for student placement. Our school district certainly relies on them heavily, but look at all the external factors that can effect them...the accent of the tester, the mood of the student, differences in world Englishes, etc.