Testing Completes its First Fully Online Spring

When life at the University of Minnesota unexpectedly changed this spring, the Language Testing Program initially decided to delay as much testing as possible until the Jones computer classrooms could reopen. However, it soon became clear that Jones would not reopen in time to meet student needs. In response, the Testing Program initially developed an online, remotely proctored Language Proficiency Exam (LPE) for the Writing test only, with the idea that all other LPE tests would be delayed.

Taking advantage of existing university resources, the Testing Program embedded the existing LPE Writing exam within Canvas. Administration was time-consuming, but it laid a foundation for developing remote versions of the full LPE. This spring, 650 students in eleven languages took at least one section of the remote LPE, and 169 of these students completed all four tests. In addition, 47 students took the optional LPE Screening test remotely, fourteen students took the ACTFL test remotely, and five students took the remote Individualized Language Assessment (ILA), which is the alternative to the LPE for languages not offered locally.

The core Testing Team of Monica Frahm, Anna Hubbard, Mary Norman and Joanne Peltonen, as well as Diane Rackowski, the lead technology coordinator, would like to thank all the language instructors and advisors for their guidance, as well as the students who participated in testing for their patience, flexibility, and good will.

And because life at the university changes but never stops, registration for the remote summer LPE is now open. Students can register for the tests they need at langtest.umn.edu and keep up with the state of Testing at the Testing Updates page.

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