Schools Admitting Exchange Students On The J-1 Or F-1 Visa
English Admissions Testing
For private, middle, and high schools
Schools that admit J-1 or F-1 students often worry that test scores don’t predict real-world language ability. They worry a student will arrive for classes and won’t be able to communicate. Until now, that was the concern about English admissions testing.
Predicting success in real-world situations like
- expressing feelings with a host family
- sharing concerns about being thousands of miles away from their real family
- asking questions in a new classroom environment
- making new friends quickly in school
- making decisions and communicating those is English
- staying safe in the community by using real-world English
becomes more important than “providing evidence of students’ ability to understand and benefit from high school instruction delivered in English.”
Here at Academic Language Solutions, our focus is on giving institutions scores that reflect real-world English abilities. A high iTEP score, therefore, means a good English speaker, and a great student. Our standards for security and academic reliability drive us to create the most accurate tool for English admissions testing.
What does each test measure?
iTEP Conversation
- Opening Questions — 2 minutes/ one part Test-taker asked to introduce him/herself and speak about friends and family.
- Short Passage Reading — 1 minute/ one part Test-taker is asked to read an intermediate-level passage of approximately 85 words.
- Short Answer — 1 minute/ one part Test-taker is asked to answer three questions about an informal, everyday topic.
- Photos A & B — 1 minute/ two photos Test-taker is shown photos and is asked to answer three brief questions about them.
- Documents — 1 minute/ two documents Test-taker is asked to answer three questions based on a document presented on the screen.
- Topic Discussion — 2 minutes/ one part Test-taker is asked about a topic and given one minute to prepare a minute-long response offering their personal opinion.
- Agree or Disagree? — 2 minutes/ one part Two different sides of an issue are presented; the test-taker is asked to give a one-minute response on the issue presented.
iTEP Slate
iTEP SLATE comes in two forms. The most well-known version being iTEP SLATE-Plus which tests grammar, listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Additionally, we offer iTEP SLATE-Core which tests grammar, listening and reading. Institutions should use SLATE-Plus for official admissions purposes. For internal assessments, on the other hand, either test is suitable.
How do I use the scores to place students into services and programs?
Sponsors and schools set their own minimum requirements for program acceptance and then specific placement by setting their own score requirements. Academic Language Solutions can assist by providing thousands of previous scores used for acceptance and placement in US schools as a guide. iTEP uses a Level score and a 1-100 score, which more closely matches historical grading procedures in many US schools.
The iTEP Equivalency charts (above) are created based on data received from partner institutions and analysis of scores attributed to CEFR aligned curriculum. The equivalency charts are meant to serve as one of many tools in the setting of cut-scores.
You can click here to view a sample report for the iTEP Conversation test.
Academic Language Solutions works with institutions to conduct pilot testing of iTEP Slate Plus or iTEP Conversation for the purpose of setting cut-scores. Institutions are able to compare scores with an established evaluation and assessment of students’ language proficiency. Pilot testing allows institutions to gauge the effectiveness of iTEP compared to other methods of proficiency assessment. Contact us to begin a pilot program.
Who accepts iTEP scores?
You can find all of the schools, J1 and F1 Visa sponsors we work with here.
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