Placement Testing: The What
- FLAD
- Foreign Language Assessment Directory
- Understanding Assessment Tutorial
- Introduction
- Validity
- What do I want to know?
- What skills do I want to measure?
- What is the intended purpose of the test?
- How will I use the test results?
- What information will the test provide?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Reliability
- What is the relationship between reliability and validity?
- How do I determine if a test is reliable for my situation?
- What could affect reliability?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Practicality
- Do I have the resources to use this test in my classroom?
- What are the practical considerations for test administration?
- What are the practical considerations in scoring a test?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Impact
- What are the possible effects of a test?
- What does positive washback look like?
- What does negative washback looks like?
- Who will be affected?
- How will different stakeholders be affected?
- Show what you know!
- Puzzle Piece
- Putting It All Together
- Needs Assessment
- Resources
- Heritage Language Assessment Module
- Introduction
- Linguistic Characteristics and Considerations
- Cultural Characteristics and Considerations
- Factors in Language Development
- Program Types
- Implications for Assessment
- Show What You Know!
- Assessing HLLs: The Why
- Assessing HLLs: The What
- Placement Tests
- Formative Assessment
- Summative Assessment
- Examples of Effective Assessment Tasks
- Summary of Best Practices
- Show What You Know!
- Assessing HLLs: The How
- Needs Assessment
- Selecting Assessments
- Modifying Assessments
- Developing Assessments
- Show What You Know!
- Putting It All Together
- Resources
- Introduction
What is placement testing?
Placement tests typically provide information on general language abilities and overall language proficiency to ensure students are appropriately placed into courses or programs. You can use this type of assessment to gather information about language proficiency for the purpose of placing incoming students into courses or programs, determining if students qualify for course credits or exemptions based on their existing abilities in a language, or making modifications to your curriculum based on the backgrounds and needs of students enrolling in your courses or programs.