The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test is a new English language proficiency test in the "TOEFL"® family of assessments. It measures foundational language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. The test covers the four language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking and is intended…

This volume presents papers that dicusss the need for more systematic and rigorous research programs to monitor the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines and their various implementations. "A Progress Report on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 1982-1986" (David V. Hiple), traces the…

Discusses the entrance examination used by Georgetown University's Division of Interpretation and Translation, which follows the American Association of Language Specialists system. The skills tested are comprehension of content and purpose of discourse, expression in the target language, and speed of work. The condidates' general background is…

Recent workplace literacy initiatives for limited-English-proficient (LEP) employees in Illinois have resulted in employer interest in the measurement of adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) achievement, particularly in the area of reading comprehension. Employers are requesting that evidence of a language minority employee's reading ability…

This paper describes a battery of evaluation instruments designed to test the language skills of limited-English-proficient (LEP) elementary school students (K-6). The battery assesses students in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), uses educational tasks similar to those required in mainstream instruction, and reflects…

The work in second language education of the Assessment of Performance Unit, established by the Department of Education and Science of England and Wales to monitor certain areas of the public education curriculum is described. The focus is on the development of a rationale for testing, the elicitation procedures used in the assessment of speaking…

Information on the Ontario Test of English Achievement is presented. Attention is directed to the background and objectives of the test, test development, subtest characteristics and properties, validity, and recommendations concerning test use. The objective of the test was to determine the language competence of incoming students to assist…

A discussion of the admission examination to the University of Ottawa's graduate program in interpretation describes the three types of instruments used (oral test, written test, and interview), their measurement of six important interpreter characteristics, and work in progress to evaluate the test's reliability. (MSE)