Test; *Placement Tests

The report describes a 3-year project to identify and develop appropriate assessment tools for placing adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students into the appropriate proficiency levels according to California's state ESL standards for adult education programs. This involved reviewing 18 commercially available instruments to determine their suitability by matching content with the state standards, field testing five potentially promising instruments, surveying agencies across the state to determine current ESL placement practices, development of a framework for producing assessment models, and analysis and interpretation of testing results. Two of the five instruments previously field-tested were then recommended for use: the New York State Place Test (NYS) and Basic English Skills Test (BEST). In the third year, initial cutoff ranges for the two tests were established and a test development plan to guide production of operational placement instruments was created. The report focuses on th