Level placement tests

A request that we have often had is that of an self access self correcting Level placement test. This is something we currently have in our pipeline and a beta version should be ready by June 2002.

Level placements tests are vital for any school wishes to organise homogeneous groups. Students admitted to the wrong classroom will upset both the classroom and the student, make everybody waist time and make the school look incompetent. However despite being essential they are very time consuming. No school charges for this service but going through with this procedure will not guarantee a subscription on the students behalf.

A self access, self correcting test will let the student go through this assessment with no extra work on your behalf. Further more since the test will be taken online, may be done easily by students from any computer even their own.

The idea of having it as a free service on your web sites has not only a practical use but can attract many curious students who could be impressed by the technology used.

The placement test would include a series of 30-50 questions covering all aspects of the English language but as opposed to traditional tests the successive question will be determined by the previous answer.

The way it works- A student will answer the first question if they gets it right the following question will be harder, if they get it wrong the following will be easier. A student will have the chance to catch up if they have made an accidental mistake, as if they get a fluke answer they will get to their rightful level in the end. The questions will cover all aspects of the English grammar, but also exercises in listening, comprehension, writing and spelling.

There will also be a pronunciation test. Here the technology is still a bit lagging. No real voice detecting system can truly evaluate students pronunciation. We have over come this setback by making it semi manual. The student will make they recordings which will be sent to our database. A real teacher will then listen to all the recordings and level them accordingly. Since they are stored this operation does not require a teacher always on stand by but may be done at convenience.

Benefits of having the Placement test Online are;
- The student may access the test from where ever
- It may be taken at any time
- Cost effective
- The test will be updated frequently
- Needs no real teachers work or commitment (other than the voice recognition)
- Will be accessed form the schools website

Disadvantages are;
- Computers need microphones if pronunciation must be tested
- If done on students computer cannot be sure of the identity

System requirements
- Computer Pentium 16MB Ram sound card, Headphones, microphone
- Windows 95+ Explorer 5 Internet connection modem 56k+