Programs must use the Best PLUS for ESOL students SPL 2-10 whose primary goal is to improve their speaking and listening skills and for all ESOL students at SPL 0-1, regardless of their goal.

This page will give you an overview of the BEST Plus test and the specifics of test administration. You can visit www.cal.org/BESTPlus/ at any time for more information about the BEST Plus.

The BEST PLUS is an adaptation of CAL's Basic English Skills Test (BEST) oral interview. As with the BEST test, BEST Plus is administered in a face-to-face interview with a student and is designed to assess the student's interpersonal communication skills using language and pictures from everyday life. The computer-adaptive version of BEST Plus, however, is administered and scored using a computer with a CAL-developed CD. As the test progresses, the computer adjusts questions to the skill level of the student's responses.

The computer-adaptive version of the BEST Plus offers a number of advantages to programs and students:

Programs must first purchase a certain number of test administrations from CAL by calling in the Registration Key displayed on their computer screen and receiving in return a Purchase Code, which when entered will allow the purchased number of administrations.

Teachers may not administer the BEST Plus to their own students. The administrator sits at a computer and asks the student a series of questions that the computer presents on the screen. The administrator scores each student response for Listening Comprehension (on a scale of 0-2), Language Complexity (0-4), and Communication (0-3) using a scoring rubric. The student sits at a right angle to the test administrator and doesn't see the computer screen, except when pictures are displayed for him or her to respond to.

As scores are entered for the various responses, the computer selects test questions (from a large item pool) most appropriate for the student's demonstrated ability level. When the computer has enough information to determine the student's SPL level based on the scores entered, the computer prompts the test administrator that the test is finished. The test administrator then can print out a score report and go over it immediately with the student. The program can also simply store the data on the hard drive for retrieval later. SABES and DOE have developed a tipsheet to get program's started with score data management. See also CAL's own CD Quick Reference Guide. (Use your "Back" button to return to this page.)

The BEST test scores and the BEST Plus scores do not correlate. Unlike last year, no previous scores will be carried over in SMARTT, so programs will need to (a) post-test students in the BEST test by June 30, 2004 and (b) pre-test students in the BEST Plus beginning July 1, 2004.

Record BEST Plus scale scores in SMARTT, which will convert them to SPL scores for reporting purposes. At this time, BEST Plus scale scores cannot be electronically integrated to SMARTT. Score reports must be printed out and then the data entered manually, after you have set up your FY05 classes. See information on scale score correlations, too.

Programs will need to have 2 staff trained (minimum) to administer the BEST Plus in FY05. SABES will provide trainings throughout 2004-2005. Information on times and locations of trainings can be found on the SABES Website, or by contacting your regional Curriculum and Assessment Coordinator.

Best Plus trainings are 7 hours, including time for lunch. After the training, program staff will be required to administer 10 BEST Plus "practice administrations" before they can use the test for official purposes—i.e., the practice administrations cannot be used as actual student scores in SMARTT.

Program staff who attend the entire BEST Plus training will receive the following:

Here are additional resource links from CAL: