Oral Placement Test

Placement testing is one of the most important processes in the center’s operation. Every student who comes to EF is given a placement test to ascertain their appropriate level of proficiency. In China we provide both a written and oral placement test to each student as an entry requirement to our general English and corporate language programs.

It is essential that placement testing is accurate, standardized and that the recommendations of the interviewer are followed. Courses containing students who are either too weak or too strong will be unbalanced and less satisfying for all of the participants of that course.

Placement testing is best administered during certain pre-arranged time blocks each day. This is to help provide more effective utilization of academic staff and present a more organized and efficient approach to our customers. 

A maximum of fifteen minutes should be allocated for each interview. This includes twelve minutes for the interview and three minutes for administration. An interview should never exceed fifteen minutes. Not every interview will require fifteen minutes as some students will be complete beginners or lower levels whose level of proficiency is easier to ascertain. 

Oral placement testing does demand great concentration on the part of the interviewer so it is not recommended that any intensive interview block exceed two hours. A school would typically schedule one interview block per day on weekdays and two or more blocks per day at the weekend. Under certain circumstances (peak periods, school openings, high demand etc.) more interview blocks may be required. 

The rate of placement tests per hour varies but is usually between 5 and 5.5. This means that a maximum of 11 tests could be scheduled for any two-hour block. An efficient method to organize such tests is through a booking system. Students are offered a time slot that suits them within a block and that time can be reserved.