Somali Placement Test: A New Model for Placement Testing

The Somali Entrance Placement Test (EPT) is now available online through the Language Testing Program’s EPT Home website. The Somali EPT is a course placement test designed to assess a student's current proficiency in Standard Somali and place them into the best course based on their abilities. It was designed to meet the diverse needs of heritage learners of the language, and place them within the language sequence. For students who require a higher-level test, a Language Proficiency Exam (LPE) is also available.



The test was created using Qualtrics and is delivered through the existing Language Testing Program’s administrative website. The Somali EPT includes branching based on students’ performance on the first section. Only students who score sufficiently high on the first section continue to the second section, resulting in a shorter test for some students.



The test was developed collaboratively between the department of African American and African Studies and the Language Testing Program. The core development team consisted of Said Ahmed, Abdulkarim Maalin, Carter Griffith and Anna Hubbard, with assistance provided by staff at the Language Center and LATIS, and a special thanks to Dan Soneson (LC Director Emeritus) for early guidance and collaboration on the project. Funding was provided by the Institute for Global Studies.