[ Browse by Service Category : Educational Support Services : Sub-Topics of Educational Testing (7) ]
Adult English as a Second Language Tests
Programs that administer tests to assess the English proficiency skills of adults for whom English is a second language for the purpose of placing learners in appropriate instructional levels and measuring their ongoing progress. Assessment tools include commercially available tests that assess English literacy (reading and writing), listening and speaking skills, as well as classroom-based tools such as surveys, interviews, checklists, observation measures, teacher-developed tests, learner self-assessment and portfolios or other performance samples.
Adult French as a Second Language Tests
Programs that administer tests to assess the French proficiency skills of adults for whom French is a second language for the purpose of placing learners in appropriate instructional levels and measuring their ongoing progress. Assessment tools include commercially available tests that assess French literacy (reading and writing), listening and speaking skills, as well as classroom-based tools such as surveys, interviews, checklists, observation measures, teacher-developed tests, learner self-assessment and portfolios or other performance samples.
Language Proficiency Testing
Programs that administer tests which assess the ability of examinees to speak, understand, read and/or write English, French or any of a wide variety of other languages. The examinations may measure different levels of competency and may test oral language capabilities (how well individuals understand and express themselves in a language including their vocabulary and grammar), reading comprehension and/or written language competency (how well individuals write in a particular language and/or are able to translate to and from that language). In some instances, the cultural competency of examinees is also measured. Language proficiency examinations may be given to the current or potential employees of organizations in situations where mastery of a particular language is a work requirement, to students who need a minimum level of proficiency to succeed in their classes, to students who have studied a foreign language (e.g., in high school) to assure appropriate college/university-level course placement, to individuals who want to teach in a particular language and to people who need to demonstrate proficiency for other reasons.
Special Education Assessment
Programs offered by the schools or available through public or private agencies that assess children who have been referred for the presence of a disability in order to determine their eligibility for special education and related services, and to make an informed decision about their educational placement and instruction. Information about a student's skills and needs is drawn from many sources including parents, teachers and specialists, and by using a variety of assessment approaches such as observations, interviews and testing, and methods such as dynamic assessment or ecological assessment. Included are evaluations which measure the student's social-emotional growth; independent living skills; sensorimotor, language and intellectual functioning; hearing and visual acuity; articulation and fluency; and other factors which have an effect on the student's ability to learn.
The above terms and definitions are part of the Taxonomy of Human Services, used here by permission of INFO LINE of Los Angeles.