Interpreting BEST Plus Assessment Scores

by Mellissa Woodhams, LVR Student-Services Coordinator

I hope this mp3 audio program will help you interpret the BEST Plus scores you receive for the ESOL students with whom you work. I also have suggestions for helping your student improve his/her score. Stream and play the 10-minute program or download it. 

BEST Plus is a standardized, formal assessment tool developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. The New York State Department of Education mandates that Literacy Volunteers of Rochester (LVR) use it.

Trained test administrators give the BEST Plus test in the LVR office. The test measures the student's oral communication skills in these areas:

• Understanding of a question
• Complexity of the answer
• Tester's understanding of the answer

The score is expressed as a Student Performance Level (SPL). The document, "Student Performance Level Descriptors," which you can download here in PDF format, helps you translate the score into an anecdotal description of the student's language level.

We assess students each year. The office contacts students at the appropriate time. Reassessment helps gauge progress, drive instruction, and helps LVR demonstrate the effectiveness of our program. Please notify the office immediately if the learner is discontinuing for any reason

Teaching techniques that might help your student improve his/her score include:

• Use pictures and flash cards
• Ask student to follow simple directions
• Build sentences from written words
• Create a timeline
• Ask "Wh…" questions: who, what, where, when, why
• Conjugate verbs
• Use model dialogues
• Substitute in sentences

I welcome your questions; please see my contact information.