The BEST Plus at El Centro del Cardenal

Alexandra Sulikowski
HABLE Program / El Centro del Cardenal

I started working for El Centro del Cardenal in May 2000. I was in charge of the whole intake process for our ESL classes, and since my first day, I have been looking for ways of improving our current assessment procedures. I even developed assessment tools for the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks that would reflect more accurately our students' proficiency levels in both their initial intake and progress evaluations. My problem, of course, was to get something that would be "standard" with all other programs and recognized statewide.

I continued using the BEST Test because it was a requirement, but I have to admit that it wasn't my "favorite." Last year I heard about the BEST Plus pilot and I was very excited about participating.

In our program, 65 students participated in the field test. I tried to get candidates that would represent a variety of English proficiency levels, cultural backgrounds, ages, and gender, so that the final results could be representative. It took approximately three weeks to complete the pilot.

I interviewed some newcomers and also some of our current students in order to get some feedback on their experience with the new BEST Plus. Those who were familiar with the original BEST Test liked the new test better. Because the test is set up as a conversation with me helped them to feel more relaxed, and so they participated more.

I liked the BEST Plus because it gave the students more "real" everyday topics to talk about like health, education, employment, recreation, travel, community -- things they could relate to their own experience. The computer-based version was really appealing to the participants and to me since the exam took less time to administer, it automatically generated a score, and the pictures were colorful and easy to describe.

I also like the fact that language proficiency was divided into three categories: Listening comprehension, language complexity, and communication. The scoring rubrics described more accurately the students' levels and, in most cases, made clear-cut boundaries among the more advanced students. This aspect is something that we did not have before with the original BEST Test.

There is also an "adaptive" version of the BEST Plus, in which the computer selects the next appropriate test item automatically, adapting to the student's skills. I didn't get the chance to work with the adaptive version and consequently, for the lower levels, some of the questions were too challenging, and sometimes discouraging for the participants. I am anxiously awaiting the final, adaptive version.

I was very happy to be able to participate in this pilot. I am really looking forward to seeing the final version. I hope this meets our needs for better assessment and, consequently, better program quality.

Alexandra Sulikowski is a program counselor in the HABLE Program (Hispanic Adults Basic Literacy in English for Education and Employment) at El Centro del Cardenal in the South End of Boston.

Originally published in Adventures in Assessment, Volume 15 (Spring 2003),
SABES/World Education, Boston, MA, Copyright 2003.

Funding support for the publication of this document on the Web provided in part by the Ohio State Literacy Resource Center as part of the LINCS Assessment Special Collection.