Abstract:
The Bilingual Vocational Oral Proficiency Test (BVOPT) is designed for screening adults seeking enrollment in a bilingual vocational training program and for determining any gain in English proficiency that may result from receiving training. Its four subtests are Question and Answer, Open-ended Interview, Repetition, and Imperatives. It is a criterion-referenced test, but how criteria were selected is unclear, although test developers cite the "actual language of the vocational setting" as a source. The test is administered individually by a person with native or near-native English and responses are rated as either "appropriate and understandable" or "inappropriate, unintelligible, no response" and marked as such on a score sheet. Color photographs accompany the test questions as a point of reference. Raw scores are converted to adjusted scores for each subtest, and score cutoff standards are provided for dividing examinees into three groups: Low-level, Medium-level, and High-level speakers. Estimates of reliability and validity are sketchy and little field testing was done during the developmental stages.