Abstract:
The Texas Oral Proficiency Test (TOPT) was developed for language teacher certification purposes in the public schools of Texas. Prospective teachers who take the test must respond orally to a set of questions (appearing in the test booklet and read aloud on an audiotape, both in English) that refer to corresponding drawings, with most items involving descriptions or explanations. Responses in either Spanish or French are recorded on a second audiotape which is evaluated by two raters using operational descriptions of what the examinee can do in the language. The test was validated on 700 Texas teachers and results are reported to candidates in a letter describing their proficiency and specifying whether they have exceeded the minimum standard of Advanced proficiency. Information on inter-rater or test-retest reliability is not reported, nor is an estimate of concurrent validity available.