PEOPLECERT announces City & Guilds IESOL Computer- Based Exams

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City & Guilds, the largest examination body in the world, has designed the internationally recognised IESOL/ISESOL suite to assess English language communication skills at all six levels of the CEFR.

PEOPLECERT is a global expert in Computer Based testing and the involvement in developing a Computer based version of ESOL exams comes as a natural evolution.

Having invested heavily since 2003 in automated testing, PEOPLECERT Group has run more than 3.000.000 exams, in 1.650 testing centres, in all 5 countries that the Group is present. This has resulted in certifying more than 500.000 people.

PEOPLECERT systems support examinations in Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Albania and China, using state of the art technology and high tech infrastructure, allowing Computer based testing anywhere in the world, ensures candidate experience while taking full consideration of examination security and candidates’ personal data.

Mr George Vassilakis, Director of Language Certification and Mr Omiros Pantazidis, Director of Sales & Marketing, will explain the next steps of deployment and why City & Guilds IESOL Computer Based Exams will bring the English Language Assessment market to a new status.

Mr Pantazidis, please give us the reason-why behind this announcement.

“Given our record of 10 years of experience in developing and delivering onscreen assessment systems for ECDL, our very high level of expertise in this area and our extensive partner network, it really should come as no surprise that we have now developed computer-based exams testing linguistic knowledge.

PEOPLECERT and City & Guilds both aim to bring a breath of fresh air to the English language market in Greece and the announcement of the IESOL computer-based exams is only the first of a number of things we will be offering teachers, students and foreign language schools in future. In this respect, computers are nowadays an integral part of the bigger picture.

Our vision is to offer nationwide language testing at all six levels on an on-demand basis, allowing registration twenty-four hours before the exam, providing very rapid results and giving the utmost security and flexibility to all stakeholders.

The candidate/language school/teacher will have the flexibility to choose between paper- or computer-based exams, as they both lead to the exact same certificate and both will continue to be offered.” When is the computer-based exam expected to be offered?

“Immediately! The exam has been beta-tested extensively in the last few months and we have already successfully held the first pilot exam, which was taken by students at all levels in January 2010 in selected authorised centres.

May I also point out here that successful candidates who took part in the pilot computer-based exam in January have already received their certificates from City & Guilds! The next computer-based exam was held on March 20th and 21st; students at all six levels of the CEFR were able to take the computer-based test in our authorised centres.”

How many examination periods are you going to have?

“The full examination schedule for 2010 will be announced soon, allowing more than 35 examination dates for the next months.

In 2011 we will have exams on an on-demand basis. This basically means that candidates will be able to take the computer-based version of the exam on dates of their choice.”

What is new on offer to the market?

“It is obvious that in cooperation with City & Guilds and top experts we are all working very hard to provide the reliable choice that Greeks need; we are aiming to continue to offer the valid, friendly certificate that we have offered right from the start.

As far as computer-based exams are concerned, this is the first successful attempt globally to offer a computer- based examination at all 6 CEFR levels at the same time.

The new online English language assessment system clearly represents the way forward, targets the candidates’ future needs and aims to make teachers’ and students’ lives easier by providing services that enhance flexibility and make decision making easier.

The new computer-based testing platform we have developed incorporates all the innovative technologies of the our examination systems, while at the same time ensuring that the structure and content of the examination replicates exactly the structure and content of the “traditional” paper based version.

May I also point out that PEOPLECERT has earned the ISO27001 certificate, which relates to information security. As a result it is no surprise that we have paid special attention to the security of our examination procedures.

Our examination systems thus ensure the integrity, validity and reliability of the examination procedure, by adhering to the strictest international standards related to encryption, access and storage of information.”

Why did you choose the slogan “valid and friendly”?

“Validity is clearly related to the quality of the test itself and, as a result, the recognition of our exams by the academic community as well as market forces internationally.

As you know, the certificates issued by City & Guilds, the leading certification organization in the world, unlike other certificates which are only recognized by ASEP in Greece, are recognized by Universities in the United Kingdom, across Europe, in the USA and the rest of the world.

Our exams are also accredited by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority as well as the Home Office in the UK, and recognised by a large number of private companies and state organizations in more than 100 countries worldwide.

As far as friendliness is concerned:

•The City & Guilds Paper Based exams are held 6 times a year and not only 2 times;

•The City & Guilds Computer Based exams will be held 35 times a year to begin with and as of 2011 on an on-demand basis;

•The City & Guilds Spoken Exam (ISESOL) is completely independent of the written exam (IESOL), therefore if a candidate fails one of the two she/he can retake that exam only;

•Monolingual dictionaries can be used during the exam;

•The exam comprises a single paper and only takes a short time to complete;

•The level of difficulty of the exam is carefully controlled in accordance with the CEFR requirements.

Mr Vassilakis, how does the computer based version of the IESOL exam compare to the paper based version?

“It is exactly the same exam leading to the exact same qualification. We have developed an alternative medium through which to take the same exam, so as to give teachers and students the flexibility to be tested and certified in whichever manner they want, whenever they want.

The first difference is that the computer-based exam will be offered much more frequently and that, due to its very nature, it allows us to issue results much faster, only 10 working days after the test is taken!

Of course, it is clear that the computer-based version is aimed at candidates who know their way around a computer; and in fact, the younger generation seems to be more comfortable working on a computer than working with pen and paper!

The other differences between the two versions are basically cosmetic: the computer-based interface has given us the chance to use more colour and a more attractive layout and there are also a few small things such as the fact that the computer warns you if you have exceeded the word limit in certain parts of the test and also lets you know how much time you have left.

Another difference is that the listening component of the computer-based test will make use of headphones, thus making sure that the quality of the audio is perfect and there is no external noise affecting the candidate’s understanding.”

What are the benefits of Computer-Based testing for English Language Schools?

“Well, first of all, let us stress once again that in terms of content, structure and certification, the exam is exactly the same as the traditional, paper-based version. However, the computer-based testing environment does offer some advantages, due to its very nature:

•More flexible administration, as everything, including registration, invigilator allocation, scheduling, marking and certification is done automatically.

•Better control of the examination environment, with the listening component being carried out with the use of headphones.

•Better service to the students, with results coming out within ten days and registration periods significantly reduced.

The long-term plan for PEOPLECERT is, as of next year, to offer the IESOL computer-based test nationwide, on an on-demand basis, at all six levels, allowing registration for the candidates twenty-four hours before the exam, providing very rapid results, with the utmost security and flexibility to all stakeholders.”

What kind of support will PEOPLECERT be offering to teachers and schools preparing students for the test?

“In addition to the support already available (handbooks, DVDs, practice papers, past papers), we have planned the following to specifically support preparation of students wishing to take the computer-based test:

•a demo and interactive tutorial which we will be sending to centres and language schools and which you will also be able to download from our site, www.cityandguilds.gr;

•sample tests, which are already available to download from our website;

•mock exams which students will be able to take at _uthorized centres for a small fee; these mock exams will be marked by City & Guilds assessors and a full report on each student’s performance will be produced.

From an academic perspective, why should teachers and candidates feel comfortable with this different approach?

“Since the beginning of the project, we tried very hard to retain all the characteristics of the paper-based candidate’s experience present, while trying to offer greater flexibility, increased security and an even more friendly examination experience.

The feedback we got from the teachers and students who participated in our extensive trialing of the computer-based test indicates that we have succeeded.

From an academic point of view, the computer-based exam gives us the opportunity to analyse candidate results and determine the level of difficulty of each item much more readily, so that the exam can become even more reliable and valid than it already is.

I should add here that the computer-based testing platform we have developed also incorporates behind-the-scenes components which can give us fast and accurate statistical data on the performance of the candidates as well as the assessors. This will obviously enhance the quality of the test as a whole.”

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