Quick Placement Test - QPT

An adaptive electronic placement test produced in collaboration with University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.

The CD-ROM version tests students in listening, reading, vocabulary, and grammar.  This adaptive test chooses progressively harder or easier multiple-choice questions until a consistent level of ability is identified.

The photocopiable paper and pen version, available in two versions, includes all the CD-ROM question types except for listening.

The results are presented in terms of the six Council of Europe levels (Breakthrough, Waystage, Threshold, Vantage, Effective Profiency, Mastery), and the Cambridge Examinations.

• Easy to administer with on-screen instructions available in seven languages.
• Substantially different questions each time.
• Instant results with no marking required.
• User Manual.

More information about the Quick Placement Test

• What is the Quick Placement Test?
• Key features
• Description
• Components
• Pac contents
• System requirements
• Protocols supported

 

 What is the QPT?

Description

The Quick Placement Test is an adaptive computer-based test of English language pevel of the test adapts to the ability of the student.

The QPT is designed to help teachers make decisions about which class to place students in, or whether a learner can join a particular course, such as an examination class. The test can be used for learners of all levels from secondary age.

The QPT is secure and flexible, and can be used time after time with new students. The results are linked to the ALTE levels, the Common European Framework and Cambridge ESOL Exams. Institutions will need to find the best way to interpret QPT scores meaningfully against their own levels systems, syllabus frameworks, class/year group organisation, teaching materials and other assessment procedures. The QPT is not designed to be used as a progress test, as it is not based on a particular course or syllabus.

Results given to students. The default end screen does not show the candidate his/her result. It indicates that the test has finished and that he/she should refer to his/her teacher for the result. However, the test administrator can choose to show the students their results by clicking on Show results within supervisor mode. If this option is selected, the result is given in terms of an ALTE level and a descriptor. The six descriptors are Beginner, Elementary, Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Lower Advanced and Upper Advanced. A chart appears on the same screen showing how the ALTE levels and descriptors correspond to the Common European Framework levels and the range of Cambridge ESOL examinations. See the chart of equivalent levels below. This puts the student's level into a more meaningful context.

Results in Supervisor. Within the supervisor mode the View results section presents a record of all students who have attempted a test, and their results. This list is created automatically. Highlighting a particular student's name will give you more detailed information about them. This is the information that they may have entered on the registration form at the beginning of the test.

 

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Key Features

• The Quick Placement Test assesses students' level of English. It is quick, reliable, and easy to administer, making it ideal for placement testing and examination screening.
• The test takes about 15 minutes to complete. In this time students answer about 25 multiple-choice questions to test listening, reading, and grammar.
• The computer presents a question and then assesses the student's response as right or wrong. As students progress through the test, the questions are automatically adapted to their ability until a consistent level is identified.
• Results are instant - no marking is required. Results are presented in terms of the ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) Framework and the Common European Framework, which relate the different language examinations taken across Europe to each other and to a common descriptive system.
• On-screen help is available for each type of task, and a progress indicator shows how much of the task is left.
• The test is easy to administer with on-screen instructions available in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Italian, or Portuguese, and with Japanese in spoken form only.
• It includes a booklet with guidelines for assessing speaking and writing skills.
• A paper and pen version of the test is also available. It includes all the CD-ROM question types except for the Listening. There are two versions, each consisting of a total of 60 questions. The test can be completed in approximately 30 minutes.
• A 1,000 use Authorisation Disk is also available (to be used alongside the 50-use or 250-use CDROM pack).

It is adaptive - The student responds to a series of questions presented by the computer, which are taken from a database of questions covering a wide range of difficulty. The entry point of the test is Lower Intermediate level. The computer presents a question, assesses the response as right or wrong and selects the next question at an appropriate level of difficulty for the student's estimated ability. In this way the difficulty of the test adapts to the ability of the student.

It is quick - It takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the test, during which the student answers 20-25 multiple-choice items. All the questions in the test are multiple choice. There is no time limit to the test.

It is reliable - Extensive validation has been carried out on individual items and the test as a whole to ensure that the result is reliable. The result should not be used as an absolute indication of a student's ability but should be viewed in conjunction with other forms of assessment. Guidelines for the assessment of speaking and writing skills are included in the user manual. As with any test there are limitations, but the QPT will be a useful tool for teachers whether they need to place a student in a class at the beginning of a course, or to assess the level of a student wishing to take an examination.

It is easy to administer - The test can be administered by non-English speakers as the on-screen instructions are available in seven languages including French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese in spoken form only.

It is straightforward for students to use - Not only are the instructions about how to do the test available in different languages, the instructions for the test itself are easy to follow. The introduction shows students the different types of questions they will be given and how to answer them. On-screen help is also available should they need it.

It is convenient for teachers - Minimal supervision is necessary and the assessment is automatic. The results are instant and there is no marking required. The teacher can choose whether or not to show the student his/her result.

Each test is unique - There may be some overlap of items between tests, but tests within any level will be significantly different to any other tests at the same level. This means that students cannot learn the test.

Secure supervisor mode - The password-protected supervisor mode maintains a record of all student registration information and results. The teacher can choose whether or not to allow students to see their results. The supervisor mode also allows teachers to monitor the number of tests still available on the CD-ROM.

It is adaptive - The student responds to a series of questions presented by the computer, which are taken from a database of questions covering a wide range of difficulty. The entry point of the test is Lower Intermediate level. The computer presents a question, assesses the response as right or wrong and selects the next question at an appropriate level of difficulty for the student's estimated ability. In this way the difficulty of the test adapts to the ability of the student.

It is quick - It takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the test, during which the student answers 20-25 multiple-choice items. All the questions in the test are multiple choice. There is no time limit to the test.

It is reliable - Extensive validation has been carried out on individual items and the test as a whole to ensure that the result is reliable. The result should not be used as an absolute indication of a student's ability but should be viewed in conjunction with other forms of assessment. Guidelines for the assessment of speaking and writing skills are included in the user manual. As with any test there are limitations, but the QPT will be a useful tool for teachers whether they need to place a student in a class at the beginning of a course, or to assess the level of a student wishing to take an examination.

It is easy to administer - The test can be administered by non-English speakers as the on-screen instructions are available in seven languages including French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese in spoken form only.

It is straightforward for students to use - Not only are the instructions about how to do the test available in different languages, the instructions for the test itself are easy to follow. The introduction shows students the different types of questions they will be given and how to answer them. On-screen help is also available should they need it.

It is convenient for teachers - Minimal supervision is necessary and the assessment is automatic. The results are instant and there is no marking required. The teacher can choose whether or not to show the student his/her result.

Each test is unique - There may be some overlap of items between tests, but tests within any level will be significantly different to any other tests at the same level. This means that students cannot learn the test.

Secure supervisor mode - The password-protected supervisor mode maintains a record of all student registration information and results. The teacher can choose whether or not to allow students to see their results. The supervisor mode also allows teachers to monitor the number of tests still available on the CD-ROM.

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Components

50 and 250 user CD-ROM Pack

• The CD-ROM packs contain a CD-ROM, a User Manual and a 50 use or 250 use Authorisation Disk.

1,000 use Authorisation Disk

• If you require multiple uses of the Quick Placement Tests, you can buy either the 50 or 250 use pack plus a 1,000 use Authorisation Disk. Please note that the 1,000 use Authorisation Disk is not available in a pack and users must buy either a 50 or 250 use pack in order to use it.

There is now a revised edition of the computer-based QPT. This can be identified by an orange flash on the back of the 50-use CD ROM Pack and the 250-use CD ROM Pack saying 'revised installation'. The key differences between Version 2 (2004) and Version 1 (2001) are as follows:

• The installation process has been simplified to de-couple the management of the test counts from the Quick Placement Test program.
• There is a revised registration screen, which provides more possible fields for students to complete, e.g. student number.
• It is easier to transfer archived data to a different program, e.g. Word, Excel.
• Test results will not be lost if Supervisor is open while the test is being taken.
• Scores include the new Common European Framework Breakthrough level.
• It is Windows 2000 and XP friendly.
• The installation instructions are available in a variety of languages

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Pack Contents

• CD-ROM
• User Manual
• Authorization disk for 50, 250 or 1.000 use

The pack contains two parallel photocopiable versions of the test.
The test is also on floppy disk so teachers can print it.
The test is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on up to Intermediate level. Part 2 focuses on higher levels.
The 60 questions are all in multiple-choice format.
Answer sheets can be marked quickly using the overlays provided.

As with the computer-based version, the test score should be combined with other forms of assessment such as speaking and writing skills.
 

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System Requirements

• Pentium II 300 Mhz or equivalent PC with a minimum of 128 MB RAM
• Microsoft Windows 98 (second edition) or NT SP4 and above (at time of issue April 2004)
• Sound Blaster /Windows compatible sound
• CD-ROM drive, minimum x24 speed
• VDU resolution of 800 x 600 with 64K colours
• Mouse or other pointing device
• 10 MB free temporary hard disk space on each local workstation
• 32 bit network server running Windows OS (network install)
• Minimum 100 mbps network speed for multi-user environment (10mbps recommended for max 10 users on a network)
• Printer
• Floppy disk drive
• Headphones for each Candidate workstation

The specifications of the workstations should be at least the same as the preferred requirements described above. Note that the Quick Placement Computer Test will not run on Windows 3.1 networks. The Quick Placement Test is designed for Windows based operating systems only. We do not support the products installed on Unix, Linux or Macintosh computers.

The software can be run from the CD drive (with at least 24 x transfer rate), the local hard drive, or if networked, from the server hard disk. In the latter case, at lease 650 MB of free space will be required to store the whole program.
 

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