Practitioner Guidelines for Psychometric Testing
English As An Additional Language (EAL)
The language of business within the company is US English. In all situations where people are being assessed in US English, yet this is an additional language for the person, it is considered ‘best practice’ to gain an understanding about whether the person is being disadvantaged.
In such circumstances all candidates or participants in the assessment context should be assessed for their English reading proficiency in order to determine the extent and nature of the disparity between first and additional language speakers.
The English reading proficiency tests chosen should explore reading:
- Speed (i.e. the test should explore the person’s capacity
for fluent reading)
- Efficiency (i.e. the test should explore the person’s potential
for error, which could lead to misunderstanding, when compared with
others)
- Comprehension (i.e. the test should give an indication about how well the person can gain access to the meaning of the written English).
In situations where significant differences in reading proficiency exist between participants in any assessment setting reasonable adjustments should be considered for EAL speakers. The kind of adjustments provided should be at the discretion of the test user but should not compromise the validity of the assessment process. The Appendix describing arrangement for those with other types of impairment should be helpful in such circumstances.
An example of tests that can be used for such a purpose can be found at:
To gain access you should, in the first instance, approach MLCP. Any alternative test chosen to establish whether the test taker will have equal access to assessment opportunity should at least meet the standard provided by these measures.
