Category Archives: Language Testing
Recent Blog Posts
The Importance of Language Testing
September 14, 2018
A concierge at a resort hotel who must communicate with guests in their language… A nurse practitioner who must be able to tell a Spanish-speaking patient about their medical treatment options… A legal assistant hired to provide foreign language document reviews at a law firm… A translator at a multinational […]
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World Language Competency Credits Empower High Schoolers to Honor Their Cultural Heritage
November 12, 2015
More than 40 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English in the home. This data, courtesy of the 2011 American Community Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, should indicate a growing comfort and acceptance among young bilingual Americans and their peers. The reality, however, is […]
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Top 10 Languages Tested in 2011
January 25, 2012
Beyond Words Language Blog readers might know ALTA primarily as a translation company, but we are also national leaders in the Language Testing sector. Our leadership in medical, government, and corporate language testing keeps us busy with interesting projects for clients and partners. In the last year alone, we worked […]
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ALTA Seeks Korean Linguists
August 2, 2010
ALTA Language Services, Inc. is a recognized leader in language services and language testing in the United States. Currently, we are seeking native to nearly native Korean linguists, preferably with a strong degree of familiarity with the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scales, to be a part of a two-day teleconference […]
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ALTA Seeking Iraqi-Arabic Linguists
June 24, 2010
ALTA Language Services, Inc. is a recognized leader in language services and language testing in the United States. Currently, we are seeking native to nearly native Iraqi-Arabic linguists, preferably with a strong degree of familiarity with the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scales, to be a part of a two-day teleconference […]
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Language Testing: How Test Validity Works
April 29, 2010
From a young age, our lives are filled with assessments: standardized tests, driving exams, placement tests, and, if a business or government agency tests the English or foreign language skills of potential hires and current staff, there is a good chance that they use ALTA language testing. Creating a valid […]
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ALTA Completes Study of Court Interpreter Exams
April 23, 2010
ALTA has completed a comprehensive study of court interpreter exams for the Judicial Council of California. The published report, California's Assessment of the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts' Exams, appears on the California Court's website. In May of 2009, the Judicial Council of California contracted ALTA to assess […]
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Earn $50.00 for Non-native English Language Study
March 31, 2010
ALTA Language Services is conducting a pilot study for non-native English speakers. If you have taken the TOEFL or another spoken language test such as the ACTFL OPI, or the DLPT OPI within the last 6 months, please contact us at lhopkins [at] altalang.com. ALTA will pay you US$50 to […]
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Top 10 Languages Tested
February 4, 2010
For Beyond Words readers who know ALTA primarily as a translation company, it may come as a surprise to learn that we are national leaders in the Language Testing sector. Since ALTA does not develop academic language tests (like the TOEFL & SAT, which get so much attention) it’s not […]
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Psychometricians: What They Are and What They Do
November 12, 2009
What is a Psychometrician? A psychometrician is someone who practices the science of educational and psychological measurement, or in other words, testing. Psychometricians measure the validity, reliability, and fairness of an exam program, and are an integral part in the process of creating valid and reliable language tests. They may […]
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