How to conduct entry testing

Entry testing is crucial because it is the beginning of every student’s ESL journey. In order to start this journey without stress and problems, it is essential to know how to effectively conduct entry testing. This article will definitely assist every ESL professional with this task. 

Entry testing plays a distinctive and indispensable role in English language teaching and learning.

They are designed to gauge a student's initial language proficiency, provide a diagnostic snapshot of their abilities, and inform us, as teachers, about the most suitable starting point for their instructional journey. 

In this article, we will look at the significance, goals, and strategies for administering entry tests in ELT, as well as their role in shaping language learning experiences for both students and teachers.

These findings will help us to find the most suitable class for the student and make the start of the course less stressful and much more effective and enjoyable due to the right level of materials and topics difficulty.

Also, as the main goal of entry testing is to assess the current student’s skills  and knowledge, it surely helps with defining the difficulty of the course that will be taken. 

Normally, entry testing is based on the CERF criteria; therefore, after taking such a test, the level of language proficiency is defined.

As we can see, conducting entry testing is a pretty responsible task that  requires a reasonable and well-balanced approach. 

Here are some basic principles that every ESL teacher should take into the account:

Once you have decided on conducting the entry testing, you need to start a rather long and challenging preparation process. Naturally, you need to start with materials.

Plan the test

Provide students with the tasks that  give a clear representation of the skills in every field of study. 

Calculate the amount of tasks and the time that will be appropriate for completing them. 

Plan how many points students get or lose when they answer the questions. 

Think of  an effective design

The test usually starts with the reading or listening activity and ends with the writing. Start with easier tasks and gradually move to more difficult ones. 

In this way, the weaker students won’t be demotivated and upset right away and will stay focused.

Try your test out

It may happen that your test will benefit from some outside professional thought. 

Review the materials (if necessary)

Make sure you carefully reread the test: the instructions have to be clear, the images – big enough and of  good quality, and the text mustn’t have any typos or ambiguity. 

The answers shouldn’t be easy, but they also shouldn’t require any niche knowledge or skills, they are supposed to be not hard to answer if the student is confident enough in the material.

When you are ready with the content of the test, it’s time for the test paper production. Here are some of the main steps you are going to deal with:

The materials production

Also, you have to be ready to adjust or quickly solve some problems if they occur. For instance, the question in the test is referring to the color of the object. But it turns out that the tests can’t be printed in color. Unfortunately, this task should be quickly reshaped. 

The control of quality

There is nothing you can do here except wait. However, you still need to be flexible in case you are asked to edit or  change something. 

The first testing attempt

You have to be attentive and note all the difficulties and questions that occur. Also, provide your focus group with the feedback form after, so they can share their impressions and recommendations. 

Review the testing process (if necessary)

This stage could be omitted in case there is nothing to change according to the feedback provided by the focus group. 

After the most stressful stage of preparation and editing is over, you may proceed to the day X – conducting the test. 

Arrange all the venues

You or any other responsible person needs to check the size of the room, noisiness and even shape, which is necessary for the clear visibility of all the participants. 

The place should be close to the rest rooms; it would be great if students could have a glass of water somewhere nearby as well. 

In addition, clarify whether you have any people with special needs among the test takers. If yes, make sure that all the needs will be met and the conditions are as comfortable as possible. 

If you need some additional tools (a computer or speakers), they  should also be carefully checked in order to avoid any technical issues.

Conduct an accurate registration process

Make sure that there will be no possibility of cheating during the test: warn all the participants about the rules. 

You have a right to not admit the students who are late or can’t present all the necessary information to verify their identity.   

Send/give all the necessary materials and manage the process

Finally, it’s time to provide students with the tasks. Don’t let anyone start before all the students get their papers. 

If there are some special rules, like writing with a black pen only, announce them clearly and loudly. It’s also high time to announce the classroom rules in general. For instance:

Describe a clear timeline for the work. When the students start, your only task is to manage the classroom: look carefully whether any rules are violated, assist with turning on the audio file for the listening part if necessary, and answer the questions if any.

Collect the works

There are always people who are unsatisfied with their performance (or at least they feel they could do better), so you are likely to hear some comments, questions or even requests to have more time to finish the task. 

If that  is your case, you’ll have to insist on collecting the works in the softest way possible. You can’t make any exceptions, as fairness is one of the main principles of testing.

After you collect the works, you proceed with marking and grading them. The first part can often be done by the machine, though. 

Last but not least, you will have to review the whole experience and think whether it was successful or not, what could have been done differently etc.

To sum up, entry testing is a pretty long and difficult process which requires time, accuracy and responsibility. If you are anxious about starting all alone, you may always join our professional community and get more help, recommendations and assistance.