Proficiency Testing

This bilingual proficiency requirement of "Advanced Low" must be met for all students pursuing a Bilingual license. 

The oral and written tests outlined below must be taken and passed as a pre-requisite for:
ED 604G Bilingual Curriculum Design & Assessment, and
ED 605D Biliteracy Development

Proficiency in the student's native or second language is required at an "advanced-low" score on the national ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) test (or equivalent) for both the oral (OPI) and written (WPT) portions.  There is a fee of $134 for the Oral Proficiency Interview. 

ACTFL Proficiency Oral and Written guidelines can be found here

The Bilingual Proficiency Testing Policy of our ESL/Bilingual Education program at Edgewood College, including retake and testing procedures, is explained here.

To arrange an oral or written exam, please review the procedures below:

Oral Proficiency Interview

This test is conducted by a certified language tester from ACTFL and is conducted over the phone in our office here at Edgewood College.  The interview generally lasts from 25-30 minutes.  We will place the call to ACTFL for you, and then you will have a one-on-one conversation with the language tester.  To schedule the test, you must submit a list to the TESOL/Bilingual Education office of 2 dates and a 2-3 hour window of time on those dates that you would be available for the phone interview.  You must be specific regarding both the dates and time period!  Testing is available Monday-Friday from 8:00am-5:00pm.  We will then submit your preferences to ACTFL and notify you of your scheduled appointment.  The cost for this test is $134.  You must bring a check or money order made payable to Edgewood College at the time of your interview.  There is a $55 no-show fee. 

Written Proficiency Test

We will offer the written test in-house here at Edgewood, at no additional cost.  The test consists of an essay and a sample letter writing exercise.  You will be given two hours to complete the test.  It will then be graded, using ACTFL guidelines, by members of the Spanish Department.  The use of dictionaries, spell checks, or any other support tools are not allowed. 

To schedule an exam, please contact Erin Teksten (eteksten@edgewood.edu) or 608-663-2249.

The Bilingual Proficiency Testing Policy of our ESL/Bilingual Education program at Edgewood College, including retake and testing procedures, is explained here.

Need help with your Spanish proficiency?  The UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies offers a variety of Spanish courses to fit your needs at a reasonable price.  Former Edgewood ESL/Bilingual Ed students have increased their proficiency level through taking just one course.  You can find more information at:  http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/classes/language.htm

NEW!
Are you preparing for your bilingual proficiency tests?  The ESL/bilingual office is happy to announce two new opportunities to help you prepare for both your oral and written proficiency testing:

WRITTEN:
Silvia Romero Johnson, instructor of ED 604G (Bilingual Curriculum Design), will be offering for the second time a professional development course designed to help you prepare for the written proficiency test (WPT).  See the course description below:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a review of key grammatical structures as well as punctuation and accentuation features in the Spanish language, and differences in discourse styles between writing in English and in Spanish. Students will get feedback for their writing pieces (both fiction and non-fiction).

If you have already taken the WPT and did not pass, Silvia will be able to provide specific feedback based on your initial exam errors. 

The dates for this course will be: Wed Feb 17, 24, and Mar 3 from 5-7pm.  The cost is $200, and is worth 1 PD credit. 

Please contact Erin at eteksten@edgewood.edu to sign up for this course.  Registration will be completed the first night of class.