Assessing Students' Oral Proficiency: A Case for Online Testing

This article reports on the Pittsburgh Public Schools Oral Ratings Assessment for Language Students (PPS ORALS) project, a Title VI Foreign Language Assistance Program grant‐funded project to create an online testing Software program that makes large‐scale oral testing in a world language not only feasible, but also easy to create, administer, and rate. The primary purpose of this article is to present the PPS ORALS assessment model as a valid Instrument for determining students' oral proficiency on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Scale. A second goal of the article is to present ways in which large‐scale, districtwide oral proficiency testing at grade 5, grade 8, level 3 high school, and grade 12 can be accomplished feasibly. Finally, the article shares the results of the PPS ORALS over a four‐year period and offers implications for the future.