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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Learning

Efl testing

Hi,
In visits to various primary and secondary schools near where I live, I've identified a need for tests of English for non-native speakers provided by some external, independent body. Schools want a result that tells them where to place students (aged 7-16) at the beginning of each year (or couple of years). Cambridge tests such as KET, PET and First Certificate don't fit this bill, as they are a 'one-off' test, and schools want to adopt a system they can use several times during their students' education. The publishers' own tests (written to match the coursebooks, such as I-Spy, Pacesetter, Cutting Edge, etc.) are also felt to be too specific.
One lycee teacher I spoke to has started sending off her students' work to the States to be graded by what I understand to be a native speaker assessment organisation that appraises reading and writing skills (!!) Now they want to do something lower down the curriculum, but the EFL/native speaker mismatch is greater with younger children, so 'native speaker' tests just don't match.
Most of me believes that schools are asking for the impossible (or even worse, the impossible AND the unnecessary), but I'm sending this anyway:
Does anyone know of any EFL assessment organisations producing tests suitable for school use (students aged 7-16)?
Thanks for any ideas,
Jan
  

Top answer

[nq:1]Hi, In visits to various primary and secondary schools near where I live, I've identified a need for tests of ... know of any EFL assessment organisations producing tests suitable for school use (students aged 7-16)? htm DC

  • [nq:1]Hi, In visits to various primary and secondary schools near where I live, I've identified a need for tests of ...
  • know of any EFL assessment organisations producing tests suitable for school use (students aged 7-16)?
  • htm DC
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi, In visits to various primary and secondary schools near where I live, I've identified a need for tests of ... know of any EFL assessment organisations producing tests suitable for school use (students aged 7-16)? Thanks for any ideas, Jan[/nq]
Not quite what you're looking for, but Cambridge do have the Young Learners English programmes aimed at 7 - 12s -
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There is the TOEFL ITP (Instititutional Testing Program). It was set up to deal with the precise situation you've described, but I've always felt that TOEFL stuff is too age-biased.
A while ago, UCLES EFL worked with OUP to product the QPT system (Quick Placement Tests). There are pen/paper and also CD-ROM versions. This test has not been widely adopted in Greece. Oxford EFL had an older pen a

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