On ESL Testing

The community college where I work has five campuses, and on each campus, the ESL programs, under Continuing Education, developed independently. As a result of their independent development, the placement process, levels, and coursework—though comparable—were unique to each campus. Recently, the college has instituted a computer placement test for new students across the entire district. Doubtless, the primary intention behind this move was to iron out the differences between the programs, to make data accessible from one campus to another, and to enable students to travel between campuses with as little confusion as possible. In these respects, the decision was a success.

However, the test itself is of dubious value. There is no writing or speaking section, which prevents students’ composition or even orthographic skills, not to mention conversational skills, from being evaluated at all. Without conversation with a trained advisor, speaking/listening are not considered at all.

In addition, many of our students (among whom are a large number of refugees) are not able to use computers. Some of them have no familiarity with computers at all; some have no familiarity with the western alphabet; and other have no literacy skills in any language. And since the instructions for taking the test are in English, students face yet another obstacle. Most of us do not test well when the conditions make us nervous.

In addition to a computer placement test for new students, at least one campus is requiring a computer final exam. In addition to the obvious limitations of such as a test of authentic communication skills, I have been told that instructors feel a pressure to teach to the test.

It seems to me that our schools and colleges have yet to understand the nature of language acquisition, in particular of ESL. And until we understand the nature of the teaching and learning peculiar to this area, we will not be able to test effectively. All we can do is speak out when we see that what we are doing is not working, or worse—hen we see that it is actually undermining what we understand to be our mission: helping people use English effectively for their daily needs.