Placement testing for college ESL students: Nuisance or necessity?

Kristen di Gennaro

Abstract:

Is placement testing for ESL college students really necessary? Can the new SAT writing component replace an in-house placement exam? This article summarizes a discussion that took place on the HEIS E-List about these issues.

Full Text:

In June 2005, I posted some questions about placement testing for college ESL students on the TESOL HEIS E-list. The background to my question explained that the English Department where I teach (a small private college in New York City) would like to eliminate the placement testing process for new students. (Apparently, the idea of asking students to sit for an exam or two during new-student orientation is coming under fire as being not student-friendly.) And with the new SAT test offering a writing component, university administrators seem to think that a student’s SAT score can serve the same purpose as a placement test and save the university money in that we would not have to pay raters to read and score placement tests during the summer. Thus, we have been under pressure to eliminate placement testing for all incoming students.

For the native-speaking population, eliminating placement testing is easier because there are only two different levels where students may start taking English courses for graduation. For our ESL students, however, the situation is a lot more complex because we have six different levels (four pre-freshman English plus ESL equivalents for the two core courses needed for graduation). The problem is compounded by the fact most of our ESL population is really Generation 1.5, so they do not self-identify as ESL learners, but often when we look at their writing, it turns out to be marked with ESL characteristics, leading us to believe they would best be served by our TESOL-trained faculty.

Since our ESL population is relatively large but still only a fraction of the total student population (perhaps 15%), those outside of ESL are wondering why we should test everyone just to identify this “small” group. They have suggested, instead of placement testing during orientation, that we place everyone in the first-year non-ESL English course, English 110, and on the first day of class, ask everyone to write an in-class essay, and then move them to more appropriate sections, if necessary. One reason I do not like this “solution” is that it would create an administrative nightmare during the first week or two of classes, as we would have to read all the exams, evaluate the students’ writing, and perhaps change schedules for a large number of students. The main reason I do not like this option, however, is the effect it could have on students who thought they were in one level and are then told, after classes have begun, that they are in a different–perhaps lower–level, and that they may even have to change their entire schedules to accommodate the different level. This, to me, is much less student-friendly than testing students during orientation.

My specific questions to the E-list were: Is anyone experiencing a similar situation? If so, how has your institution responded? Is there any way to place ESL students fairly and accurately without an actual writing sample? Is there any procedure that would help us identify potential ESL students and test these students only? Or do I need to continue to insist on placement testing for all students in order to identify and place ESL students?

I received eight responses from people at a variety of institutions, from New York to Hawai’i. One respondent suggested we ask students to take the TOEFL exam, as this score might provide us with information we need to place students. Since these students are not mainly international students and do not identify with recently arrived non-native speakers, asking them to take the TOEFL exam is almost the same as asking our native speaking-freshmen to take the TOEFL.

More than one respondent said that they require students who may need additional writing assistance, as determined by ACT/SAT scores or high school GPAs, to take a placement test. I think this idea is workable, but only if the cut-off for not testing is set high enough that the majority of students are still tested. I’m afraid, however, that the administration would soon catch on and approach us about changing criteria in order to test fewer students. In fact, this was the temporary solution we had implemented at my school. While I certainly prefer this to no testing, it puts us in the difficult position of trying convince the administration that the SAT is not an appropriate placement tool at the same time that we use SAT scores for distinguishing good writers from those who may need additional help.

One person explained how it might be possible to use additional information about each student, such as L1, educational background, place of residence, and other related information to identify only those students who need to be tested. I think this could work, but I also wonder if it might stigmatize the non-native immigrant and bilingual students from their peers. And, I hate to admit it, but I also doubt that we have the degree of coordination needed between the admissions, advising, and the English departments to make this sorting-out process work.

Another suggestion was to implement a freshman seminar program to help students get through their English classes. Actually, we already have this type of program for all freshmen to help them negotiate their first college year in general, and a few times we have actually been able to create groups according to ESL needs. Once again, the only way we were able to identify certain students as having ESL needs was through the writing placement test. Furthermore, the ESL courses through the English department are writing workshops, meeting four hours a week, while a one-credit freshman seminar would probably not give students enough practice to greatly improve their skills.

Two responses, while not offering solutions, were extremely helpful in that they validated the reasons for my question in the first place. One person stated simply, “a writing sample is indispensable for putting ESL students into appropriate classes because it tests a productive skill.” Another raised an excellent point: “I’m wondering why English faculty won’t use a writing sample to place native speakers of English into English classes. That to me does not make sense.”

I can conclude with an update of the placement-testing situation at my school. As of now, we have convinced the university administration that SAT scores are not useful for placement purposes and that we really need to see students’ writing in order to identify which students might be better served by our ESL sections. The solution that has been accepted is to require all new freshmen to complete a “writing sample” when they come in for orientation, and we will use this “sample” to identify ESL writers and make decisions about their placement. (All native speakers will submit a writing sample, but then go directly into English 110 unless they request an evaluation to test out.) In other words, we have managed to hang on to the placement test by re-naming it a “writing sample.”

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this summary by sending me your comments and suggestions. I hope this summary encourages us to continue the discussion on the HEIS E-list, as this is an issue that seems to keep coming up. If you have any specific advice, please feel free to e-mail me directly at .

Bio:

Kristen di Gennaro is Director of ESL at Pace University’s English Department in New York, and a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity. Her research interests include writing pedagogy and assessment, with a particular interest in placement testing issues.