Computer Assisted Screening Tool (CAST)
Link: CAST
The purpose of the CAST diagnostic screening tool is to:
1) Elicit an adequate speech sample from examinees to assure a reliable floor (or baseline) rating
2) Provide feedback to the examinees on how their proficiency can be improved
3) Estimate examinees likely score on the official ACTFL OPI
4) Provide positive wash back for proficiency-based teaching. With the newly-added “reviewer” interface, the CAST can be effectively used by instructors as a tool to rate their students’ oral production and to increase their own understanding of the criteria by which ACTFL ratings are given.
CAST tests advanced level speaking proficiency in nine languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino (Tagalog), Arabic (Modern Standard), Iraqi Dialect, Persian (Farsi), and English as a Second Language.
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CAST Assessor Training
We are pleased to announce the new flash-based interface for our pilot Intermediate online proficiency test, CAST, in 15 languages. We welcome all OPI workshop participants to join us for a two-day workshop on rating the intermediate CAST, and a follow-up workshop on rating the advanced level CAST. The workshops will take place at SDSU EBA 410 (map).
The dates are:
The steps to become an official rater are: (a) OPI training; (b) CAST assessor training; and (c) completing four additional ratings in the target language.
Successful participants will receive a CAST assessor badge and be eligible to be a CAST official rater.
Letter Grade and Assignment: Letter grade will be based on a ten-page reflection paper on the process of creating test items and rating student responses. Research goals will also be reviewed.
Some participants may opt to receive College of Extended Studies credit, however, and this is available at a cost of $TBA per credit unit. Forms for enrollment for credit are available through the College of Extended Studies website, and participants can also enroll on site during the first day of the workshop.
Contact Information:
M. Trevor Shanklin, Director, LARC Language Labs, shanklin@mail.sdsu.edu
or call (619) 594-5445
Helpful links
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LARC/CALPER Testing and Assessment Webinars
Language acquisition research increasingly points to targeted feedback as a key component for increasing learner proficiency. To receive targeted feedback,however, more refined tools for testing and assessment of learner language are needed. To this end, LARC and CALPER at Penn State (a sister national Language Resource Center) are partnering to offer a series of webinars bringing well-known researchers and practitioners together in online classrooms, with supporting podcasts for each session and webinar archives available for post-session review.
Upcoming Webinars
Date Time Title Presenter Description Links
Wednesday
April 10, 201312:30-1:40 pm (Pacific)
Check your time zoneAssessing Language Using Computer Technology
Dr. Volker Hegelheimer
Iowa State UniversityComputer Assisted Testing and Assessment Description & Register
