Placement testing policies and procedures

NEW STUDENT PLACEMENT

OXFORD YOUNG LEARNER ONLINE PLACEMENT TEST Mapped to the CEFR like the Primary ESL Standard curriculum to allow for accurate placement into our Stages. Tests Listening, Reading and Writing. Read more here. Substantial question bank varies testing content. Responsive question selection and automatic test wrap up based on learner responses.

PLACEMENT INTO GRADE 1 Children transitioning from the Vinschool Standard kindergarten program will have a speaking interview with a Vietnamese ESL teacher as part of their admissions process. This interview will include a basic literacy check component. Where children are transitioning from the Vinschool Cambridge program and are not ready for Stage 2, admission will be directly into Stage 1 as recommended by the Cambridge ESL team.

GRADE = STAGE / GRADE = STAGE + 1 This is the ideal placement for learners and acknowledges that learners benefit from being placed in a course with sufficient cognitive and linguistic demands. We still use placement testing data to place students, but we need to move away from conservative placement and towards a placement approach that acknowledges children can thrive when challenged if we have the right support in place.

OLDER PRIMARY LEARNERS WITH LOW LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY We recognize it may be challenging to place some Grade 4 and 5 students in Grade = Stage / Stage +1 and that this issue may be more acute in some locations. We are committed to making student placements that have academic integrity and are evidence-based. As the admission period for each new school year begins, please keep in contact with the Primary ESL Coordinator for support and recommendations in placing this demographic of student.