placement intro.

doc general introduction to placement tests

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE QUICK AND FULL Skyline PLACEMENT TESTS

The SKYLINE QUICK and FULL Placement tests have been designed to be used for placing students
into groups corresponding to the five levels of the series. Students with no previous knowledge of
English at all would not normally be required to take either test.

Please note: both the QUICK and FULL tests are graded to test items that are progressively more
difficult.

SKYLINE QUICK TEST CONTENTS

The SKYLINE QUICK Test tests structures and vocabulary. It comprises 60 multiple choice test items
(35 structure and 25 vocabulary) carrying one mark each. It is divided into 10 sections (A to J).
Section A tests the structures and section B the vocabulary that is taught in Skyline 1. Section C tests
the structures and section D the vocabulary that is taught in Skyline 2, etc. See the Quick Test
Structure Table below.

SKYLINE QUICK PLACEMENT TEST Structure Table

Structure Vocabulary
7 marks 5 marks
Skyline 1 A B
Skyline 2 C D
Skyline 3 E F
Skyline 4 G H
Skyline 5 I J

Marking the Skyline Quick Placement Test

See the Skyline Quick Placement Test Answer Sheet.

Deciding Students’ Levels

Use the Quick Placement Test Conversion table to decide which level your students are at. Placement
according to the scores in the quick placement test is based on the assumption that students attempt to
answer all questions.

SKYLINE QUICK PLACEMENT TEST CONVERSION TABLE

Total Score Level

0 – 19 Level 1
20 – 30 Level 2
31 – 40 Level 3
41 – 50 Level 4
51 – 60 Level 5
SKYLINE FULL PLACEMENT TEST CONTENTS
The SKYLINE FULL Placement Test tests: structures, vocabulary, reading and writing. It is marked
out of 100. There are 75 multiple choice items (the same 35 structure and 25 vocabulary questions as
in the QUICK Test plus 15 Reading items). All items carry one mark.

25 marks are awarded for the writing items (5 marks each). Like the QUICK test, the FULL test
becomes progressively more difficult. Sections A to D test the structures, vocabulary reading and
writing skills that are taught in Skyline 1. Sections E to H test what is taught in Skyline 2, etc. See
the FULL Test Structure table below.

SKYLINE FULL PLACEMENT TEST Structure Table

Structure Vocabulary Reading Writing

7 marks 5 marks 3 marks 5 marks
Skyline 1 A B C D
Skyline 2 E F G H
Skyline 3 I J K L
Skyline 4 M N O P
Skyline 5 Q R S T

Marking the Skyline Full Placement Test

See the Skyline Full Placement Test Answer Sheet.

Marking the writing items in the FULL Test

Use the Marking Criteria to give a mark out of 5. While the same scale is used to assess students’
performance for all 5 writing tasks, a greater degree of sophistication, range and accuracy is required
as the test progresses.

MARKING CRITERIA
5 Complete, accurate and appropriate.
4 No more than one omission, mainly accurate, rarely inappropriate.
3 No more than one omission, minor inaccuracies, sometimes inappropriate.
2 Several omissions, noticeable inaccuracies, often inappropriate.
1 Many omissions, mainly inaccurate, mostly inappropriate.
0 Too little or too incomprehensible to mark.

Deciding Students’ Levels

Use the Full Placement Test Conversion table to decide which level your students are at.
Please note: Placement according to the scores in the Skyline Full Placement test is based on the
assumption that students attempt to answer all questions.
SKYLINE FULL PLACEMENT TEST CONVERSION TABLE

Total Score Level

0 – 28 Level 1
29 – 46 Level 2
47 – 64 Level 3
65 – 82 Level 4
83 - 100 Level 5