I’ve been interested for a while exploring criteria that can be used by teachers when placement testing students attending short-term general English courses in an English language summer school.

Typically, the academic lead, e.g., the Director of Studies, gives some input on process and how to placement test. This may be reinforced with a setting the standard session but from my experience there is no available criteria which the tester can refer to, to assist them when level placing students during a speaking test.

Here are my thoughts and a first draft on a set of scales for speaking assessment during summer school placement testing.

You can also download a PDF copy here: General assessment scales for summer school placement speaking tests

These scales have not been trialed and are only a first draft. I’ve purposefully left out sections on phonology, discourse, and interaction to keep it simple; discourse and interaction can be covered under the heading communication. Pronunciation can be an inhibitor to understanding but a student’s ability to produce language is more important when matching them to a cohort group, even if that language is strained by problems with rhythm, intonation, and stress,

It is still work in progress. However, if anyone has any thoughts, feel free to comment below.

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