In school, Jessica Villalobos could not see herself. People who looked like her, shared her background, who spoke Spanish were nowhere to be seen in the textbooks, novels, and films…
Reimagining Bilingual School ProgramsSandra Martins was a good Spanish student. But, when she finally visited Spain for the first time, she found much of what she had learned to be useless. Language Learning…
Using STAMP to Create a Culture of Learning at the College of DuPage
A data-driven approach to language proficiency helps Hebrew at the Center turn Hebrew students into Hebrew speakers. How do you get the most out of your language program at your…
Hebrew At The Center’s Data-Centered Approach To Language Proficiency
EUGENE, ORE. – Avant Assessment and the National African Language Resource Center (NALRC) at Indiana University Bloomington are partnering to provide language assessments in Swahili and Yoruba on Avant’s proprietary…
Eugene Language Assessment Leader Partners with National African Language Resource Center to Offer New Assessments
Albuquerque, NM – After careful vetting from a New Mexico Public Education Department task force, New Mexico selected Avant Assessment as its statewide contractor for language proficiency assessments. This new…
New Mexico Department of Education Exclusively Partners With Eugene Company To Offer Bilingual Assessments
EUGENE, ORE. – Avant Assessment co-founder and CEO David Bong received the 2019 Global Citizen Award, which honors innovators in language education. Bong was recognized for his leadership in founding…
Eugene Language Assessment Leader Selected for Global Citizen Award
Simply letting students talk more during a class led to dramatic improvements in students’ language proficiency skills at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Listening Is Good, Speaking Is…
Student Avant STAMP Language Proficiency Test Scores Skyrocket
EUGENE, Ore. – 111 Global Seal of Biliteracy awards were presented to students across the nation at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) annual convention in…
More Than One Hundred Students Earn Prestigious Global Seal of Biliteracy Award
Tulane University started using online assessment for student placement a few years ago, discovering that student performance data — like duct tape — can solve all sorts of problems. Language…
Language Placement Testing: Tulane’s Success Story
Carl Robertson is a scientist at heart. This is why he is always experimenting with his Chinese language program at Southwestern University in Texas. How Carl Sets His Objectives “Every…
Using STAMP Data To Improve Your Small Language Program: Carl Robertson’s Story
Stephany Sipes, Former World Language Coordinator in PLANO ISD Heritage Language Learners In Texas Stephany Sipes is the Former World Language Coordinator in Plano, Texas. As World Language Coordinator in…
Recognizing All Heritage Language Learners in Texas
Your kids worked hard all school year learning and improving their world language skills. Don’t let the summer or holiday slide set them back! It’s finally that time of year-…
4 Fun Ways to Help Students Maintain Their Language Skills This Summer
Chicago Public Schools isn’t waiting until high school to give world language students an opportunity to earn a Seal of Biliteracy. When the school year comes to an end and…
Why Wait Until High School for Seal Of Biliteracy?
By following these tips from some of Avant’s expert raters, students can feel more confident going into their language proficiency tests this spring. Nobody knows what success looks like on…
5 Expert Language Testing Tips For Teachers & Students
Polish Speakers & The Seal Of Biliteracy The number of states and school districts offering the Seal of Biliteracy continues to increase rapidly across the country. This growth is providing…
Expanding Opportunities For Polish Speakers: As Seal Of Biliteracy Testing Increases, So Should Access
With the Seal of Biliteracy Expanding, Avant Assessment Announces Polish Proficiency Assessment; Assessment Launched In Michigan Will Be New Option for States With Large Polish Populations EUGENE, OR (February 8,…
For First Time, Polish To Be Offered As Student Language Proficiency Option
Tell me and I forget Teach me and I remember Involve me and I learn -Benjamin Franklin The publication of the ACTFL…
ADVANCE: Making Proficiency Real for Preservice Teachers
EUGENE, OR (February 15, 2018) (Updated) – As the number of states and school districts adopting the “Seal of Biliteracy” has increased dramatically across the country, a language assessment company…
As More States Adopt the Seal Of Biliteracy, Language Assessment Company Launches Program To Increase Testing Access For Schools And Students
Why Do People Hate Standardized Tests These Days? Here are just a few of their reasons: Only 14% of parents think standardized testing is very important in evaluating schools, making…
Data Literacy: It Doesn’t Take An Einstein
Art Fry was so frustrated, he almost said a bad word in church. Every time he opened his hymnal, his bookmarks fluttered to the floor. Then he remembered that one…
Avant ADVANCE: Bringing Language Standards To Life
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle Teachers As Raters=Success We gets calls from schools around the country every day….
Training Raters, Transforming Classrooms
Interview with Marzanna Owinski of The Polish Mission Marzanna Owinski spoke with Avant Cofounder Dr. Carl Falsgraf about Polish language education in the United States and the goals of…
Interview With Marzanna Owinski Of The Polish Mission
Language Proficiency is the Goal Proficiency is a much-discussed and frequently used word in the language education field. Our company and others deliver “proficiency” assessments. But which proficiency is most important…
Why Language Proficiency Matters
Who Rates The STAMP Tests? The human-rated responses in the Avant STAMP, PLACE, Arabic Proficiency Test(APT), and the Spanish Heritage Language tests are rated by Certified Avant Raters who are…
How Does Avant Rate Speaking And Writing Responses?
Avant STAMP 4Se was developed especially to assess the language proficiency of elementary students. Why The STAMP 4Se For Grade 2 Through 6 Language Learners Is Important In the past…
Why Avant Recommends STAMP 4Se For Grades 2 And Above
The United States is a country of immigrants, but historically the second generation of these immigrants(heritage language learners) has lost their parents’ language – making our country poorer for it;…
Why Heritage Language Learning Matters
Coding ≠ World Language Some state legislatures have proposed that students who learn to code should earn world language credits. Is learning to code equivalent to learning a world language?…
The Coding is Equivalent to World Language Myth – Should We Look In The Mirror?
Why Test Reliability and Validity are Important “Test reliability” and “validity” are two of the most misunderstood terms in language testing. Both are very important in determining whether a particular…
Test Reliability And Validity
What Are The Differences Between Fixed-Form And Adaptive Test Design? There are two fundamental test designs in language proficiency assessment: Fixed-Form Testing and Adaptive Testing. In a fixed form test,…
Fixed Form VS. Adaptive Test Design In Language Proficiency Testing
Language proficiency assessment can seem complex or even mysterious – a black box that just spits out a score. However, it isn’t that complicated once you get familiarized with a…
How Standards Are Used In Language Proficiency Assessments
What Language Proficiency Isn’t Proficiency is definitely NOT what I learned in my college Japanese courses. Proficiency is a much-discussed word in the language field. But what proficiency are we…
What is Language Proficiency?
Simply stated, Proficiency is the ability to use language in a real-world situation, Performance is the ability to use language in a limited and controlled situation such as a classroom…
Proficiency VS. Performance VS. Achievement