Recruiting Test Takers for a Language Test Pilot for the Teaching Profession

Summary

English-speaking, French-speaking, and bilingual teachers and teacher candidates are being  recruited to participate in pilot testing of an online pan-Canadian language assessment tool. 

Information about the test 

The four-hour test assesses language competency in four language modalities: writing, reading,  listening, and speaking.1 A short break, of up to 15 minutes, may be taken between assessment modules. 

The test will be administered in an at-home setting using an online test platform, and will be  live proctored. The pilot test will run from September to October 2021. Once you submit your  online registration form (link below), you will receive information on how to select a date and  time to complete the test and how to download the test and proctoring applications. 

What is the incentive? 

Test takers will receive a $150 incentive on behalf of the registrar’s office in your Ministry of  Education, College, or Board distributed via an Interac e-transfer and a letter of appreciation 4- 8 weeks after completion and review of the test. Bilingual (French-English) test takers can take  the test in both languages and will be eligible to receive the incentive twice. 

Who can participate? 

The following English-speaking, French-speaking, and bilingual test takers are being recruited:  • internationally educated teachers, including those who are applying for certification or  who do not have a teaching certificate in Canada (for example, teachers who are  currently completing additional studies or working in another profession); 

  • teacher candidates in the final stages of a teacher education program in Canada; • recent graduates (less than 5 years) of a teacher education program in Canada. 

Your participation will support teacher mobility and help ensure more consistent language  competency standards across provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec, which  will continue to use its own language test. 

How to Participate?

 

To participate, please complete the registration form at
bit.ly/RTCCtestRAPEC

 

More Information:

YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE PILOT TEST WILL NOT HAVE ANY CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR  CERTIFICATION AS A TEACHER, AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WILL NOT BE SHARED WITH YOU OR WITH REGISTRARS. 

More information about the project  

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), under the leadership of Registrars for  Teacher Certification Canada (RTCC), is piloting a language competency test for the teaching  profession (in K-12 education systems).  

The language-competency test specific to the teaching profession in Canada is designed to  assess the language competency of those whose training has been completed outside Canada  in a language other than English or French. Once the test has been validated and the standards  established, the test will be used to assess the mastery of academic language and grammar, as  well as to measure language competencies that research indicates are essential for effective  teaching. The test is intended to ensure that candidates possess the language competencies  required for teaching in English-first-language and French-first-language majority and minority  contexts, and would be implemented in all the provinces and territories participating in the  project. The test is not subject or grade-level specific. 

The pilot test aims to establish the validity of the test by evaluating a range of candidates,  including internationally educated teachers and French- and English-speaking teachers in their  first years of teaching. Once validated, the test will be used to assess the language skills of  internationally educated teachers trained in a language other than English or French. 

The purpose of the pilot testing is to determine the validity and reliability of the test. At this  stage in the test development process, it is not possible to offer accommodations to test takers  with special testing needs. Once the pilot-testing phase is complete, the question of how to  make appropriate accommodations will be addressed.  

This project is funded by the Government of Canada, through the Foreign Credential  Recognition Program, and by in-kind contributions from the Council of Ministers of Education,  Canada (CMEC) and the registrars in the provinces and territories. 

Information about Proctortrack by Verificient 

The language competency test delivered through XpressLab will use the Proctortrack by  Verificient proctoring platform, a desktop application and a browser extension available to test takers when they log in to the XpressLab platform. 

  • Proctortrack by Verificient is used by universities, colleges, and K-12 institutions in Canada and worldwide.
  • All recordings made by Proctortrack by Verificient undergo full encryption.
  • The encrypted data will be stored within Canada and will be destroyed 60 days after the  pilot testing has been completed. 
  • During the test, in addition to monitoring by a live proctor, software monitors screen  activity, keyboard activity, and sounds in the room via the computer microphone.
  • The live proctors will monitor the test taker via a webcam during the full length of the exam  and will do a screen of the room at the beginning of the exam. 
  • Once the test has been completed, test takers can uninstall and permanently remove the  Proctortrack by Verificient extension in the Chrome browser settings and the application.

 

Event details

Date & Time
ModeIn Person