Frequently Asked Questions Evaluation

In English as a Second Language, adult education centres are responsible for producing exams for ANG P101, 1101, 2101, 3101, 3102, and 3103.  These exams must be developed in accordance with the Definition of the Evaluation Domain (DED) that ensures provincial standards.

Some school service centres mandate BIM to create exams and BIM only approves the exams that they develop.

If the centre develops their own evaluations, it is done under centre director’s responsibility.  The centre director must ensure the pedagogical supervision of teachers, in particular, with regard to the evaluation of learning.

Please refer to the Policy on the Evaluation of Learning for more information.
The choice of evaluation that is used at a centre must be stated in the centre’s Standards and Procedures (Normes et modalités).

February 2018

The DED for ANG-2101 reads: “During the oral text comprehension evaluation, the adult learner:  listens to simple non-interactive audio or video texts pertaining to exchanging ideas and interests in a formal or informal context.” The instructions do not specify that the adult may not control the listening device. Non-sanctioned exams may be written and/or modified as long as the DED is respected and there is consensus by the school service centre.

February 2018

The development of diagnostic tools, such as a placement test, is the responsibility of each centre.  The MEQ does not create these types of tools.  A diagnostic tool should allow the teacher to situate a student in the appropriate level according to the course competencies and families of learning situations targeted by the course.  Learning situations can be created or adapted for such diagnostic purposes.

February 2018

Students may not choose the version of their evaluation, but in ANG 5101 and ANG 5102, they are asked to choose amongst three controversies in the evaluation version they are assigned.

Coordinating the administration of examinations is the responsibility of the person in charge of the certification of studies and the administration of ministerial examinations.  Administration of examinations must be in accordance with the Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations (Sanctions Guide).  This person is also responsible for the rotation of versions  (see Info/Sanction 17-18-08).

The procedure for administering examinations should be indicated in the centre’s Standards and Procedures (Normes et modalités).

February 2018

Small words include articles and conjunctions such as a, an, the, and, but, if, or and so.  As a general rule, small words account for 10% of a text.

February 2018

The person in charge of the certification of studies and administration of ministerial examinations may transfer, or authorize the transfer of files to another read-only audio device, ensuring respect of confidentiality.

February 2018

In order to obtain a secondary school diploma, certificate or attestation of studies, a student must earn credits in secondary 4 and 5. Therefore, the Ministry of Education is responsible for creating examinations for these two levels (referred to as sanctioned exams).  All of the examinations for the non-sanctioned levels (Pre-secondary, Secondary 1, 2 and 3) can be created by another agency or group, provided that they use the criteria from the Definition of the Evaluation Domain (DED) as a guideline.

February 2018

Yes. All students in adult education must be evaluated under the same conditions, regardless of their type of attendance (in class, distance education, exam only or self study).  Therefore, all exams must be conducted at an adult education centre, which includes oral interactions.

February 2018

Each center must determine the course of action for a student who was absent for an exam, and this course of action is to be outlined in the center’s Standards and Procedures (Normes et modalités).  The Standards and Procedures of the center must respect the codes set out by the Ministry in the Administrative Guide-Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations and within the pedagogical framework of the Charlemagne system.  For example, the code ABS indicates that the student was absent when the ministerial examination (Secondary 4/5) or local examination (Pre-secondary and Secondary 1/2/3) was administered.

In the Charlemagne system, if a student leaves during the examination or if a student does not show up for part of the evaluation (i.e. the interaction part), the student must receive a result because he/she has seen the exam.  The exam must be corrected and a result determined.

In the case of the oral interaction in DBE courses, specifically in ANG 3101/3102/4101/4102/5101/5102, if a if a student does not show up for or refuses to do the interaction, a mark of 0 would be assigned for the course.

In CCBE (ANG P101/1101/2101), if a student does not show up for or refuses to do the oral interaction, a mark of 0 would be assigned for the oral interaction part of the exam and then a global mark would be determined based on this result combined with the result from the oral text comprehension, written text comprehension and writing part of the exam.

February 2018

The MEQ is currently working on Word Q versions of the secondary 4 and 5 evaluations, however, in the meantime, school service centres may convert examinations to formats compatible with Word Q.

December 2017

It is highly recommended that teachers do a collective correction so as to have a common understanding and a baseline for grading.

It’s normal for there to be a bit of discrepancy, although it should be minimal if the proper steps are taken when preparing to correct exams. Here are a few guidelines for marking oral or written production exams:

DETAILED SUGGESTIONS FOR COLLECTIVE CORRECTION:

BEFORE MARKING

• Record oral interaction exams for …01 and …02 courses, so you are able to devote your entire attention to the learner as you go through the interaction. This will also allow you to give fair time and consideration to marking the exam afterward.
• Learn what the evaluations are about by studying the end of course outcomes (p 23-25, p 29-31, and      p.34-35 in the DBE ESL program) and DED’s for each course you teach.
• Look at the exams and the Correction Guides in order to understand the expectations of both the oral and written exams. Study the roles that you and the learner have to play.
• Become familiar with the Examination Grids:
  • Compare with the Instructional Grids
  • Highlight words and phrases
  • Consider the incremental differences between benchmarks in the Grids of various courses and levels.
  • Interpret the meaning of each benchmark.
• Situate the learner’s ESL level, particularly if you need to mark exams in many different levels. This will set a baseline and ensure fair correction practises. Verify the competency level of the learner using the ‘Development of Competencies’ 1-page summaries found on the ESL website or the charts found in Chapter 3 of the DBE ESL Program.
• Practise marking. Becoming proficient with the new exams and tools is like any other skill, which will improve through repetition. Use student productions on the ESL website, either on your own or with colleagues. Set up learning situations and mark the productions as though they are exams.

DURING MARKING

• Get a general impression of the learner’s production. Take time to listen or read through the entire production before beginning to mark. You may need to do this more than once.
• Review the Grids and each Competency Summary if needed to set a baseline before you begin to mark.
• At first, you may find it easier to mark using the Examination Grids and Instructional Grids together.
• Mark the exam in pencil just in case you need to revise what you have done.
• If in doubt, use your professional judgement. Don’t be afraid to re-listen and re-read, or review any of the documents used before marking.

June 2017

Bloom’s Taxonomy is one of the documents that informs reform-based education. The old exams were based on the first and second (or lower-orders) of thinking; ‘remember and understand’. Occasionally there were questions which used the higher order thinking ‘apply’.

In the old comprehension exams, students were asked to focus on the literal meaning of texts. Using WH questions students would use active listening to identify concrete pieces of information in the text in order to give a multiple choice response.

Today’s exams ask higher-order-thinking questions and put the emphasis on interactive listening; questions related to a situation are asked, and students must formulate a response based on prior information or learning. In other words, the student is exposed to a written or recorded text (or a combination of both), then a situation is created by putting limitations or circumstances in place.

This engages the response process and ensures that the evaluator, through interaction, can concretely determine whether the student has understood and taken those factors into account. Scaffolding is included (but not evaluated in and of itself), which allows the student to organize lower-level information from the texts (remember, understand). The student then creates notes containing this information. When the teacher poses questions or makes comments throughout the oral exchange, students are required to draw on the information in their notes to apply, analyze and evaluate before responding. The evaluator can then assess the student’s ability to listen, understand, process information (using the response process) and respond with intelligible feedback.

June 2017

As stated in the DED for each course under the section Specifications for the Evaluation Instruments; Examination Content, the length of documents to be used for the exam reads as follows: “The written texts provided consist of approximately XXX words, depending on the context.” Just as the length of the written production from the adult learner is stated as: “Writes a … text … that is composed of approximately XXX words, not counting small words such as articles”. The inclusion of the word ‘approximately’ allows for some latitude in document length.

June 2017

The evaluation criteria for ANG-1101 includes the criterion “Interprets short, simple informative texts within familiar contexts adequately”. The term ‘texts’ includes both written and spoken texts, so the comprehension of oral texts is evaluated through the interaction between the teacher and the learner. At this stage, the oral texts that the learner interprets during the interaction are judged sufficient to gauge the learners’ oral comprehension ability.

June 2017

Yes.  Teachers must consult the evaluations and understand their content in order to be able to play a role and interact with students in the 01 and 02 level courses in secondary 3, 4 and 5.  In order to properly correct the exams, teachers are required to understand the exam content for each of the courses they teach.  Consultation of evaluations must be done so as to respect the confidentiality of the evaluations as set out in the Normes et modalités of each centre.

June 2017

You can find the document here:

English Version

Version française

December 2019

February 2018

In adult education, the Ministry does not establish a list of pedagogical materials.  The grammar book used in the exam room is a joint decision between the centre’s administration and the ESL teachers.

The grammar book chosen must respect the definition of a grammar book; a body of rules imposed on a given language for speaking and writing said language, based on the study of its grammar.

Some grammar reference books have been created and published by teachers (in-house grammar guides) or publishing houses or organizations (e.g. Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet by SOFAD). The grammar book chosen for use during exams should be one that has been used during the English course. This grammar book may be unilingual or bilingual. Unmarked copies of this grammar book should be kept in the exam room for exclusive use during evaluation situations.

Students may use their own versions in the exam room. The student’s document must be examined thoroughly beforehand to make sure that it is exempt of notes.

Bookmarks are authorized. Notes are, however, forbidden.

December 2017 revised March 2018

Electronic dictionaries, whether connected or not to the Internet, are not permitted during exams.

However, if the adult is entitled to the use of a computer, as an adaptive measure for exam purposes as stated in chapter 5.2.2 of the Administrative Guide for the Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations, a digital version of a dictionary may be authorized.  The digital version of the dictionary must be, in all respects, identical to the paper version without all of the functions found in an electronic dictionary.

December 2017 revised February 2018

The DED explains what material is allowed.  Dictionaries are usually provided by the center, although some centers accept the students using their own for the exams. In the case of a second language other than French, the dictionary must be provided by the student. All dictionaries must be in paper format and accepted for use in the exam room.  Dictionaries provided by students must be examined thoroughly beforehand to make sure that they are exempt of notes.

June 2017 revised February 2017

YES!  With the CCBE and DBE courses, adults are able to use both unilingual and bilingual dictionaries for exams.  Click here for more information about dictionaries. A grammar book is also allowed as long as it is a published version accepted by the school service centre (please refer to the Published Grammar FAQ ).

June 2017

The Correction and Administration Guides for the examinations state that only the student’s Notes and the page titled Task 2 from the Adult Booklet are permitted during the Notes Review. Dictionaries and grammar books are not authorized.

Students may modify their notes during the Notes Review part (15 or 26 minutes) of Section 2 of the evaluation.

Following the Notes Review, teachers are not required to do a second validation of the student’s notes for complete sentences.  The initial validation is to ensure that students do not copy texts from the exam booklet(s) and subsequently read their notes during the interaction.  Any notes the student adds during the Notes Review would be their own, and not copied from the text.

February 2018

Please refer to the document: Instructions for Administering the Examination for courses that have an oral interaction evaluation.  In Section 2: Interaction, it states to “Return the following document to the adult learner: Task 2 and Notes pages from the Adult’s Booklet”. Therefore, the instructions and other information listed in the Task 2 section can be returned to the student for reviewing however, during the interaction, the student may only use their Notes pages.

February 2018

Isolating the student, as long as he or she has no access to other resources during the notes review (dictionaries, electronic devices, people, books, etc.) is sufficient.

February 2018

In the following DBE courses, 3101, 3102, 4101, 4102, 5101, and 5102, the oral interaction represents 100% of the final grade. It is highly recommended to record all oral interactions. The teacher is required to be an integral part of the interaction and recording the interaction allows the teacher to listen afterwards and evaluate more precisely the student’s production.

As well, students can request to have a grade revision.  In order to re-evaluate the student’s mark, the center must have a record of the oral interaction.

The procedure for saving recordings of the oral interactions should be included in the centre’s Standards and Procedures (Normes et modalités). Confidentiality with regards to these recordings must be respected at all times.

February 2018

Yes.  The Notes Review and Oral Interaction make up Section 2 of the exam.  Section 2 must be administered in one session.

December 2017

After consultation with various school service centres, the interpretation of the teacher has been revised. Oral interactions can now be administered by an ESL teacher that may or may not be the student’s teacher.  Each center will make this decision based on pedagogical and organizational factors.

December 2017

After consultation with various school service centres, students may now modify their notes during the Notes Review part (15 or 26 minutes) of Section 2 of the evaluation.

Following the Notes Review, teachers are not required to do a second validation of the student’s notes for complete sentences.  The initial validation is to ensure that students do not copy texts from the exam booklet(s) and subsequently read their notes during the interaction.  Any notes the student adds during the Notes Review would be their own, and not copied from the text.

As a reminder, the Correction and Administration Guides for the examinations state that only the student’s Notes and the page titled Task 2 from the Adult Booklet are permitted during the Notes Review. Dictionaries and grammar books are not authorized

December 2017 revised February 2018

No. The teacher’s portion of the interaction is a text to be reinvested.  Confidentiality of all evaluation texts (written, listening and spoken) with the exception of Preparation Booklets, must be respected.  Therefore, interaction cannot be done in class as there is no way to prevent other students from hearing the text.

June 2017

Yes. The ‘Examination Content’ section of the DED reads:

During Section 1, the adult learner:

• Reads short narrative texts.
• Selects one of the texts as a springboard for discussion during the Interaction Section.
• Uses prompts provided in the Adult’s Booklet to construct the meaning of texts and to choose a story or personal experience that can be linked to the chosen text.

If these directives are not followed, a student could practice and memorize any story at all before the exam and recount it. We want to see how the student can create natural links to subjects of conversation.

June 2017

Yes.  Since adult learners are permitted to use a wide variety of resources for their research such as friends, family, Internet, books, magazines, etc., they are allowed to take the Preparation Booklet home.  In order to fully utilize these resources, a student would need to work outside of class time. The Authorized Materials section of the Preparation Booklet mentions all the permitted resources. After the teacher and learner have agreed on a return date, they will sign and date the signature block in the Preparation Booklet.

June 2017

Both.  The Preparation Booklet is given to students 4-6 hours before the end of their course.  Students may use a wide variety of resources to complete their preparation. In order to fully utilize these resources, a student would need to work outside of class time.

June 2017

Grids are not handed into the Ministry.  In Section 4.3.11 of the Administrative Guide-2015 Edition, Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations the following is stated:

Education institutions must store, in a safe place and for a period of at least one year, the documents that have been used in administering examinations (i.e. tests, answers sheets).  During this period, MEQ may ask to see all the copies of these documents.

Teachers may use either the grids provided with the Correction and Evaluation Guide of the evaluation or the 1-page Evaluation Grids (identical in content) available on the MEQ website: (http://www.accompagnementfga.ca/esl/resources/).  Instructional Grids are not to be used for this purpose.

The choice of grids used should be stated in the centre’s Standards and Procedures (Normes et modalités).

February 2018

No.  Evaluation and instructional grids may not be provided to students during the evaluation.  

February 2018

Information Clarifying the Evaluation Criteria

What to Look For in C1-C-2:

1.1 Adequate participation in oral interaction in English at all times

• Does the student talk independently and spontaneously or need constant help?
• Does the student ‘parrot’ or use his own words

1.2 Pertinence of the message expressed

• Can the learner use functional language (inform, express feelings/opinions, persuade) in order to share information about the topic?

1.3 Coherent articulation of the message

• Am I able to clearly understand what the student says?
• Does the structure of the language make sense? (grammar, syntax, vocabulary)
• Are sounds reproduced clearly enough to be comprehended? (pronouncing, enunciating)

2.1 Demonstration of understanding through the response process

The learner reinvests understanding throughout the interaction by including information from texts that have been studied previously and by correctly interpreting new oral texts (questions and comments) introduced by the teacher

• Can the student show me that he understands:
  • The essence of what he has read or listened to? and
  • New texts (questions and comments) introduced as the discussion takes place?

2.2 Pertinent use of knowledge in a reinvestment task

• Does the student get the gist of the discussion enough to link or integrate information from foundation texts in appropriate places during the discussion?
• Does the student ‘parrot’ or use his own words?
• Can the student keep up with and adapt to the changes that take place as we move ahead in the discussion? (adapt and adjust words, style of speech and tone as new information is introduced)

What to Look For in C2-C3:

2.1 Demonstration of understanding through the response process

The learner reinvests understanding by correctly interpreting written and spoken texts, then including the results of his thought processes along with supporting information from the texts that have been studied.

• Does the student’s writing show me that he understands:
  • The essence of what he has read or listened to?
  • The instructions that were given for completing the written production?
  • How to apply information from more than one text in a new situation
• Can the learner use functional written language to inform, express feelings/opinions and/or persuade in order to share information and elicit responses?

2.2 Pertinent use of knowledge in a reinvestment task

• Does the student link or integrate information from the foundation texts in appropriate places in his written production?
• Does the student copy information directly from the texts or use his own words?
• Does the student’s text reflect an awareness of the audience (reader)?
• Is a writer’s voice or personal mind-set apparent in the student’s written production?
• If writing includes expression and persuasion, has the student adapted and adjusted words and expressions, or otherwise exhibited his own style of speech?

3.1 Coherence of the content

• Does the learner’s text follow the prescribed layout and format?
• Is the text well organized? (logical order, accepted writing conventions)
• Does the text contain all of the necessary components?
• Does the text meet standards of length and degree of complexity?

3.2 Clear formulation of the message

This criterion addresses the mechanics of the language, which are outlined in each course and become increasingly more complex as learners advance through higher courses of English.

• Is the vocabulary appropriate for the writing task?
• Do expressions have meaning in context?
• Are words spelled correctly?
• Are the words in order? (Syntax)
• Have grammar rules appropriate to the learner’s level been applied?
• Is punctuation suitable?

June 2017

Competency 2, Criterion 2.2 of the Evaluation Grid (Tailors content to purpose and audience) addresses this issue.  This is where points are given or removed for transcribing vs. reformulating. Likewise, for oral interaction exams, Competency 1, Criterion 1.1 of the Evaluation Grid (Demonstrates fluency in discourse) points may be removed for ‘word for word recitation’

June 2017

Please refer to the following document,  Administrative Guide for the Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations, Section 5.2.2.  According to the Guide, students may use the following support measures:

• Reading aid (e.g. a voice synthesizer)
• Writing aid (grammar and spelling software or word prediction software)
• ⅓ additional time*

*Additional time can be given for Section 1 of the exam (In CCBE, Interpretation and in DBE, Interpretation and Notes Preparation) as well as for Section 2 (in CCBE, Interpretation and Notes Preparation plus the Interaction, and in DBE,  Notes Review and Interaction)

In order to be entitled to these measures,the adult must use these support measures regularly in class and have them listed in their file after a case evaluation.  Translation software may never be used for second language examinations.

February 2018

No.  The audio file must be played at its normal speed during the exam however, the adult has full control of the audio such that he or she can pause or repeat portions of it as needed.  For further information, please refer to the Administrative Guide for the Certification of Studies and Management of Ministerial Examinations, Section 5.2.2 where it states that for any support measures besides the ones indicated above, a request accompanied by the adult’s complete file must be submitted to the coordinator for the Certification of Studies in General Education in  the adult sector at the Direction de la sanction des études.

February 2018