14th EALTA Conference, Sèvres 1 to 3 June, 2017 onset for Refugees Design and Implementation of an Online Placement Test for Immigration Purposes Hannah Lepping, Thomas Eckes 02/06/2017
Overview Design of the onset The onset for Refugees Implementation Administration Findings Conclusions
Design of the onset onset General language proficiency C-test-principle Rasch measurement Calibrated item bank onset-deutsch (formerly ondaf) onset-english onset- Since 2006 Since 2015 Under developm. German English French, Italian,
Design of the onset (cont'd) onset General language proficiency C-test-principle Rasch measurement Calibrated item bank onset for Refugees Since April 2016 German English
onset for Refugees Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research: Without integration, education doesn t work (Sep 2015) Language learning Placement testing Increasing number of refugees We can do it! (A. Merkel) University https://www.bmbf.de/de/fluechtlinge-durch-bildung-integrieren-1615.html
onset for Refugees Since April 5, 2016 Project duration: 2016 2019 Funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through means of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Free of charge for refugees Placement according to the CEFR levels (A2 to B2) Registration online: refugees.onset.de
onset for Refugees Website: refugees.onset.de
onset for Refugees Website: refugees.onset.de
onset for Refugees Website: refugees.onset.de
Implementation Test purpose Course assignment University language centers Adult education centers Language schools Feedback for learners of German / English, e.g. for Freshmen Apprentices Preparation for the TestDaF (Test of German as a Foreign Language) or related high-stakes admission tests
Implementation Many institutions have been using the onset, e.g. Ruhr University Bochum: 592 participants Kiron Open Higher Education: 431 participants University of Koblenz Landau: 111 participants Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden- Wuerttemberg: 21 participants As of 04/05/17
Marketing activities Video and brochure with use cases in preparation
onset for Refugees The testing process SAMPLE TEST 1 2 3 REGISTER ONLINE TAKE THE TEST PRINT THE CERTIFICATE
onset for Refugees Registration
onset for Refugees Registration
Administration
Administration 6 texts, 5 minutes per text Texts follow on each other automatically Increasing difficulty level Different test forms (varied across test administrations) Test can be taken only once within 6 months
Administration Instructions
Administration Sample test
Administration Immediate feedback of test results
Administration onset Certificate
Findings 600 3,867 registrations 3,196 completed tests 500 418 400 346 295 300 266 247 223 202 255 257 200 170 249 247 181 180 528 410 Growth of candidature 414 364 368 298 293 287 100 0 84 86 65 68 40 8 17 17 7 8 12 32 33 16 45 17 10 Registrations onset-deutsch onset-english
Findings Participants: Gender and language version Gender Language versions female 16,8% English 8,0% male 83,2% German 92,0%
Findings Countries of origin Top 10
Findings Countries of origin Egypt 0,6% Somalia 0,7% Palestine 0,7% Eritrea 1,0% Pakistan 1,3% Iraq 2,7% Iran 3,9% Nigeria 0,6% Others 11,6% Afghanistan 5,6% Syria 71,3%
Findings CEFR-levels Test results 40% 37,6% 35% 31,5% 30% 28,5% 26,3% 25% 20% 23,0% 22,2% 20,5% 15% 10% 10,4% 5% 0% below A2 A2 B1 B2 or higher onset-deutsch onset-english
Conclusion Since its introduction (April 2016), the onset for Refugees has been well received Yet, less participants overall than expected Large number of available placement tests for refugees Institutions offer their own placement tests Volunteers are not used to administer (online-)tests to refugees Refugees do not think about an academic career yet onset for Refugees contributes to integration of refugees in the German educational system
Mohamad (27) from Syria I have been in Germany as a refugee for 14 months now. For a couple of months already I have been interested in the TestDaF. I thus wanted to assess myself to find out whether I am ready to take it. After a long search I found the cost-free onset. I finished it within only 15 minutes. To my mind the number of tasks was sufficient, my language skills could be concretely evaluated. I was quite satisfied with my result: I could directly start preparing for the TestDaF without taking an additional course.
Thank you for your attention! hannah.lepping@testdaf.de refugees.onset.de