Beyond the LEA: BEST Plus and TABE CLAS-E Tests

The BEST Plus (Basic English Skills Test) and TABE CLAS-E tests are exercises designed to test your learner's language skills. We use them to measure your learner's progress throughout the one-to-one tutoring program. This brief informational post will teach you more about the two different tests, including how you can become certified to administer them to your learners.

Both the BEST Plus (Basic English Skills Test) and the TABE CLAS-E (Test of Adult Basic Education Complete Language Assessment System) test, much like the Language Experience Approach (LEA), begin with either vocal or visual prompts, which the learner then responds to. This gives the tutor key information about which areas of the learner's language they must work to improve. With the LEA, it's up to you, the tutor, to decide which areas you want to work on; it's a very free-form approach stylistically. The BEST Plus and TABE CLAS-E tests are more structured, with standardized prompts and score reports available. They give us diagnostic reports about the learner's level of English when they are both entering and exiting the tutoring program. 

First, a bit of information about the BEST Plus. In the LEA, the tutor writes down an exact transcript of everything the learner says; in the BEST Plus, the emphasis is on listening and speaking, not writing, so it's in interview format instead of just a single response. The tutor reads prompts from a script, and analyzes the learner's response. The LEA allows you to select which area of language your learner needs to work on the most, but the BEST Plus has a preset score rubric to help interpret your learner's responses. Conversation topics always cover practical topics related to everyday American society - school, work, community life, and being at home. Speaking is such a huge, practical area of language, which is why this test looks at your learner's ability in natural conversation.

At English at Large, we administer around 60 BEST Plus tests per year, in the fall, winter and spring. Our volunteers become trained and certified to administer these tests at UMass Boston through SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support). UMass Boston is one of the six support centers for SABES statewide. The training consists of a 7-hour educational session and 10 practice tests.

The TABE CLAS-E, like the LEA, tests learners' listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. It focuses mainly on reading and writing, as the format is an actual test booklet that learners write in directly. This is the main difference between TABE CLAS-E and BEST Plus, as both use prompts related to common, everyday life in the United States. We usually administer 3 of these tests throughout the learner's time with their tutor to measure their progress. You can find become trained and certified to administer the TABE CLAS-E test through SABES, as well.

Between the BEST Plus and TABE CLAS-E tests, we are able to measure the effectiveness of our program on learners. When your learner exits the one-to-one tutoring program, these tests allow us to show the state that the learners have made significant progress in their language skills and cultural knowledge.

Happy tutoring!
Kris





Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016

ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
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