Imagine you’re building a bridge across a river. You need that bridge to be strong and sturdy for years to come and withstand the ebb and flow of the river. There are countless examples throughout history of bridge designs able to meet this expectation from which to draw inspiration.
Building it in a different age, however, requires adapting it for the use of new materials, evolving construction techniques, or the increasing weight of modern traffic. The bridge will still stand as historical designs and materials stand today, but it won’t serve the people who rely on it as effectively or safely as it could.
As the first online computer-adaptive language assessment, Avant STAMP is that original, forward-thinking bridge that stands the test of time but also evolves, adapts, and anticipates the needs of educators and learners. Avant focuses on pushing the boundaries to make language testing more effective, secure, and responsive to the real-world challenges faced by educators and next-generation learners. This ongoing commitment ensures that the bridge we build together is not just a structure of the past, but a pathway to the future of language education.
Avant STAMP has been externally reviewed and validated by the American Council on Education and recommended for college credit. All 50 US States and the District of Columbia accept the Avant STAMP test to qualify for State Seals of Biliteracy. In addition, all STAMP tests qualify for the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Rigor in the STAMP development process ensures that Avant’s tests accurately measure what they intend to, while our time-tested combined human and AI-based rating system guarantees that the results are consistent and reliable.
STAMP’s Rigorous Approach to Proficiency Testing
Clear, transparent, detailed rubrics are critical to the successful rating of proficiency levels. Avant has always used four criteria in rating the productive skills of Speaking and Writing. Avant publishes their rubrics for the four criteria of Text Type, Functions/Complexity, Vocabulary, and Accuracy/Comprehensibility. Everyone is welcome to read through the Avant STAMP rubrics.
Avant has refined these criteria, aligning them with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, through more than 20 years of proficiency testing experience to ensure the highest standard of quality. Our STAMP for CEFR test rubrics are aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
We’re proud to share these rubrics so they can be compared with other tests’ criteria. Dependability in measuring against those standards must be considered when evaluating an assessment tool.
High Inter-Rater Reliability and Statistical Backing
Avant’s methodology is backed by rigorous statistical analysis and trusted by leaders in the global language field. For instance, The adjacent agreement between raters when reviewing Writing and Speaking responses is above 96%, demonstrating exceptional reliability. Moreover, the exact agreement rates between the scores assigned by a single rater and official scores are consistently high, reinforcing the accuracy of the assessments. This is also one area where Avant is proud to share the results of research so everyone has a clear view into the rating of our tests.
Such high reliability and accuracy rates are crucial in language testing, where the implications of scoring extend into academic placement, career qualifications, and beyond. Avant’s commitment to statistical rigor and to the validity of our assessments, given their intended uses, ensures that each test taker’s proficiency level is assessed accurately, providing a reliable measure of their actual language abilities.
How is High Inter-Rater Reliability Achieved?
Avant Assessment is dynamic in its approaches. Over the past two decades, Avant has continually refined its assessment processes to meet evolving educational and professional needs. Part of this evolution involves ongoing rater training programs designed to align with the latest educational standards and testing practices. This training ensures that raters can effectively evaluate responses within the established criteria, contributing to the high inter-rater agreement rates.
Avant believes in their rater training process and wants to bring that same empowering coaching to teachers. To meet that goal Avant created Avant ADVANCE. ADVANCE is the first online teacher training tool on the proficiency guidelines. For more than seven years, this tool has helped classroom teachers to deeply understand how to apply the proficiency standards when reviewing their own students’ responses and adapt classroom instruction to meet student goals.
Exceeding Global Standards
Avant’s testing methodology meets and exceeds the globally accepted measures for educational assessments. By maintaining a high standard for reliability and accuracy, Avant STAMP provides educators, institutions, and learners with confidence in the validity of the test results. This assurance is vital for all stakeholders relying on these results to make informed decisions about language proficiency.
Read the Research
The evidence presented in the research strongly supports the effectiveness and rigor of Avant STAMP’s existing assessment criteria. Avant remains dedicated to enhancing educational outcomes and language proficiency worldwide, ensuring that each assessment reliably reflects true language proficiency in real-world applications. We invite you to speak with a team member to learn how you can empower learners with reliable proficiency testing and credentialing.
