Clarity’s Technical Director, Adrian Raper, considers the issue of fairness when students are taking the same test on different devices.
Author: Adrian Raper, Technical Director, ClarityEnglish
ClarityEnglish’s readiness for the GDPR
We care about protecting your privacy. Over the last 25 years, we have been scrupulous in keeping and updating our clients’ information in our database. In light of the GDPR, we would like to reassure you that Clarity and its staff are determined to protect the personal data that you have shared with us.
Setting up a level test: challenges and solutions
When Clarity and telc first conceptualised the Dynamic Placement Test, a key objective was to devise a democratic test — a computer-based level test available to schools whatever their digital setup. At the same time, we didn’t want to compromise on the technology: it needed to be a test that went well beyond multiple choice questions and gap fills. So within these constraints, the team prioritised three areas.
ClarityEnglish and Flash
What is Clarity's policy for supporting and replacing Flash-based programs?
Cheating and the Dynamic Placement Test
Can a test run on a student’s device ever be secure? What’s to stop a test taker looking up the answers on the Internet? What, in fact, does ‘secure’ mean in the context of a placement test?
‘I’m sorry to say at the moment people don’t take tests for fun.’
Sean McDonald of telc catches up with Adrian Raper at the IATEFL Conference in Glasgow. He discusses his philosophy of testing, and the steady move from paper-based exams towards digital language assessment.
A CEFR for China?
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was originally developed for Europe, but the ‘can do’ statements have global application. After all, the ability to ‘understand simple technical information, such as operating instructions for everyday equipment’ or to ‘understand short, simple texts on familiar matters’ is relevant worldwide. Could it not therefore be renamed the Global Framework of Reference for Languages? Read more