Speaking and Listening
The General Speaking and Listening Assessment is ALTA’s most popular assessment and is available in more than eighty languages. The exam measures a candidate’s ability to converse in the language being tested through a series of questions. As the questions increase in complexity, ALTA’s evaluators can rate how well a candidate can speak the language.
ALTA offers the Speaking and Listening Assessment in two formats - live and IVR (Interactive Voice Response). Both versions are given over the phone and take about thirty minutes.
Written Skills Assessment
The writing skills test is used to measure a candidate’s ability to write in the target language. It is available in more than eighty languages, and results are available within two business days. ALTA’s written evaluation consists of prompts that one would encounter in a variety of business settings. The skills test is available online with some languages available in paper format. ALTA’s written exams are scored according to their twelve-level scale.
Reading Skills Assessment
The Reading Assessment is an online test that measures reading and comprehension skill levels. It consists of written passages in the language being tested and multiple-choice questions to test comprehension. The ALTA Reading Skills Assessment is only designed to rate at a high level of skill and is not recommended for most students. Please contact the Testing Center if the language you wish to test reading skills in is only available through ALTA.
Retake Policy
Students may retake ALTA assessments but must wait a minimum of three weeks before retesting. As only two attempts are allowed each calendar year, we recommend that students study before retaking the test. If multiple tests are taken, the highest score will be used.