Health Care Language Testing FAQs
General Questions
Q: Why does ALTA offer testing for bilingual employees and for medical interpreters?
A: The job requirements from a language viewpoint are different for bilingual employees and for medical interpreters. Bilingual employees speak directly with the patient/client in the target language (e.g. Spanish) while providing the service. Medical Interpreters are not the direct service providers; rather, they are the means for the service provider to communicate with the patient/client. The language skills for a bilingual employee are to speak and understand at the appropriate level of skill in the patient's/client's language. A medical interpreter must not only speak and understand the patient's/client's language at the appropriate skill level, he/she must also speak English at the appropriate skill level and must be able to convert content accurately from one language to the other.
Q: My administrative assistant speaks Spanish, why can't I just have her test my candidates?
A: When testing candidates' language skills, you want to be certain that the test you are using reliably and effectively determines the candidates' skills. To do this you need to use a process (protocol) that is repeatable, fair, not open to bias and rigorous especially in case of challenges to the results. Using an untrained person, who does not use a proven process to test, will give you results that you cannot trust. Asking your Spanish-speaking assistant to do the testing is akin to asking a person who has an automobile driver's license to fly an airliner because he or she has a license.
Q: Can I take a language test even if I am not part of a company or organization?
A: No. ALTA provides testing only for organizations.
Pricing
Q: What is the price of ALTA's language testing?
A: The pricing of the language testing depends on several factors including the type of test, for example, oral, written, online, interpreter, etc. ALTA also offers volume discounts. Your ALTA representative can answer your pricing questions.
Q: How are ALTA's tests billed?
A: At the end of each month we total the number of tests that we have done for you. We provide to you an itemized listing of the tests and an invoice for the services. Terms are thirty days net. Testing clients located outside the U.S. will need to pay for the initial testing in advance.
Languages Tested
Q: What languages do you test?
A: The oral language tests are listed here. If you need testing in a language not on our list, let us know. Normally, it takes about three weeks to add a language.
Q: Can I test a candidate in two languages, for example Spanish and Portuguese?
A: Yes. Some of our clients do test candidates in two languages when a job requires both.
Scheduling
Q: How do I schedule the language tests?
A: By telephone at ALTA's toll-free number (U.S. portion only) at 888.465.4648, by fax at ALTA's fax line at 404.920.3801, (3) by email. Scheduling is done Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) except holidays. You are not scheduled until you receive a confirmation. Normally all oral tests begin on the hour or half hour.
Q: Can I change the date and time of my test after it is scheduled?
A: Yes. You may cancel or change your schedule as long as you let us know by 4:00 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) on the business day prior to your test. After that time we do not have time to tell the evaluator of the schedule change and must pay the evaluator. You will be charged the full price of the evaluation for all late cancellations.
Q: What happens if I am late for my test?
A: We will try to reach you if you are five minutes late. If we are unable to reach you, we will wait fifteen minutes after the appointed time for you to begin the test. After that time, we do not have time to complete your test without inconveniencing the person for the next scheduled test. If you do not contact us by fifteen minutes after the appointed time, we will charge you for the test.
Taking the Oral Test
Q: If I do not understand the question, can I ask for help?
A: Yes. You may ask the evaluator to repeat the question or to rephrase the question. Remember that asking for help too much will have a negative effect on your score.
Q: How long should my answers be?
A: The purpose of the questions is to get a representative sampling of your speaking abilities. Try to answer most questions with three or more sentences. If the evaluator needs a longer answer, he or she will ask you to say more.
Q: How long does the oral test take?
A: Normally the test takes about fifteen minutes.
Q: Will the evaluator give me my score right away?
A: No. The evaluator does not score the test until after you hang up. All tests are recorded and the evaluator often needs to listen to the recording to complete the evaluation. The evaluators are not allowed to give results to the candidates. All results are reported by ALTA's management to the organization's administrative contact the next business day.
Results
Q: What do the results mean?
A: If you have not requested customized scoring, your results will be on the ALTA 1 through 12 scale described in the oral or writing protocols
section. Your organization will be provided with the score representing the minimum passing score for your position.
Q: How do I receive the results?
A: We will send them to the administrative contact either by email or fax. We will release scores only to the administrative contact or those authorized by the administrative contact to receive the scores. Normally, scores are provided the business day following the test.
