PROFICIENCY
DESCRIPTORS
CONTINUUM
CollegeBoard
Puerto Rico and Latin America
Since language acquisition does not necessarily correlate with length of study or grade level, it is more appropriate to describe what students can do
with the language at particular stages. Proficiency descriptors reflect the language skills characteristic of students who correctly answer the
corresponding items correctly. Student performance indicators along the four stages of language development included in the English Language
Assessment System for Hispanics are described in the following charts. Each stage presupposes the attainment of skills in the previous level.
Listening Comprehension
Score
40–80
Stage
One
107–140
High
Intermediate
141– 200
Four
! understand the general idea of slightly longer
! Basic personal information, daily ! Short sentences and questions,
! understand the main idea and details of longer and
! Diverse concrete topics
! Longer conversations, short
! understand linguistically complex text and extend
! Wide range of topics including
! Extended discourse including
discourse on familiar subjects
more complex discourse beyond the immediacy of
the situation
the ideas by making inferences
related to self and immediate
environment
life activities or familiar physical
settings such as school or work
including practical, social and
academic settings
those that are abstract and
unfamiliar in a variety of
settings
Advanced
Language Use & Indirect Writing
! use basic grammatical structures including but not ! Real life contexts and highly
40–89
One
Novice
!
limited to affirmative, (yes/no) question and
negative word order, present and past verb tenses;
subject and object pronouns
combine words and phrases into acceptable
English sentences
! in addition to skills in novice stage:
Low
Intermediate
Three
126–149
High
Intermediate
Four
149+
High
Intermediate
Plus
predictable common daily
settings
One
90–125
Low
Intermediate
Three
126–149
High
Intermediate
Four
149+
High
Intermediate
Plus
3 line conversations
narratives, news reports,
advertisements
academic lectures, professional
and business exchanges
! Short, linguistically noncomplex
sentences
! use skills in novice and low intermediate stages
! More diverse topics than
! Slightly longer and more complex
! use skills in novice and low intermediate stages
with reasonable accuracy and little effort
! possibly master more advanced grammatical
! More diverse topics than previous ! Slightly longer and more complex
!
with reasonable accuracy and little effort
context
previous stages
stages
complexity than novice stage
sentences than previous stages
sentences than previous stages
structures and writing skills. It is recommended
that students take ELASH II which would permit a
more accurate and detailed description of their
linguistic skills.
! locate basic information
! understand high frequency vocabulary
Novice
Two
with high frequency vocabulary
! Slightly higher level of
word order of
information questions and requests; complements,
adjectives and adverbs; present progressive and
future verb tenses; noun inflections; prepositions
and determiners
recombine two and three sentences into acceptable
English sentences and improve sentence structure
Reading & Vocabulary
! Highly predictable settings
40–89
! Short sentences and questions
! Social, familiar, and practical
Two
90–125
Text Type
! Familiar, predictable topics
mainly isolated words and cognates with great
difficulty
Low
Intermediate
Three
Context
! understand minimal chunks of spoken language
Novice
Two
81–106
Function: Students can
!
!
in addition to skills in novice stage - identify main
ideas, distinguish between fact and opinion, draw
conclusions
understand vocabulary presented on a variety of
topics
!
including personal information
and familiar situations
Topics related to self and
immediate environment
! Settings related to personal,
!
practical, academic and work
situations
More academic topics with a
clear underlying structure
! Presented in context within short
sentences
! Very short texts and authentic
materials such as labels and short
personal letters beginning with
approximately 50 words
! Presented in context within
sentences
! Simple narrative and descriptive
multiple paragraph prose
selections up to 280 words
! use skills in novice and low intermediate stages
! More diverse topics than
! Presented in context within
! use skills in novice and low intermediate stages
with reasonable accuracy and little effort
! possibly master more advanced reading and
! More diverse topics than
! Presented in context within
with reasonable accuracy and little effort
previous stages
previous stages
sentences and multiple
paragraphs
sentences and multiple
paragraphs
vocabulary skills. It is recommended that students
take ELASH II which would permit a more accurate
and detailed description of their reading skills.
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PROFICIENCY
DESCRIPTORS
CONTINUUM
CollegeBoard
Puerto Rico and Latin America
Since language acquisition does not necessarily correlate with length of study or grade level, it is more appropriate to describe what students can do
with the language at particular stages. Proficiency descriptors reflect the language skills characteristic of students who correctly answer the
corresponding items correctly. Student performance indicators along the four stages of language development included in the English Language
Assessment System for Hispanics are described in the following charts. Each stage presupposes the attainment of skills in the previous level.
Listening Comprehension
Score
40–80
Stage
One
Low
Intermediate
Three
107–140
141–200
High
Intermediate
Four
Context
Text Type
! Familiar, predictable topics
! understand the general idea of slightly longer
! Basic personal information, daily ! Short sentences and questions,
! understand the main idea and details of longer and
! Diverse concrete topics
! Longer conversations, short
! understand linguistically complex text and extend
! Wide range of topics including
! Extended discourse including
mainly isolated words and cognates with great
difficulty
Novice
Two
81–106
Function: Students can
! understand minimal chunks of spoken language
discourse on familiar subjects
more complex discourse beyond the immediacy of
the situation
the ideas by making inferences
related to self and immediate
environment
life activities or familiar physical
settings such as school or work
including practical, social and
academic settings
those that are abstract and
unfamiliar in a variety of
settings
Advanced
! Short sentences and questions
with high frequency vocabulary
3 line conversations
narratives, news reports,
advertisements
academic lectures, professional
and business exchanges
Language Use & Indirect Writing
! use basic grammatical structures including but not
40–89
One
Novice
!
limited to affirmative, (yes/no) question and
negative word order, present and past verb tenses;
subject and object pronouns
combine words and phrases into acceptable English
sentences
! in addition to skills in novice stage:
Two
90–125
Low
Intermediate
!
word order of
information questions and requests; complements,
adjectives and adverbs; present progressive and
future verb tenses; noun inflections; prepositions
and determiners
recombine two and three sentences into acceptable
English sentences and improve sentence structure
! use more advanced grammatical structures
Three
126–149
High
Intermediate
!
including word order of complements; reported
speech; parallel structure; perfect tenses
recombine three and four short sentences into more
complex acceptable English sentences; improve and
correct sentence structures
! in addition to skills in previous stages-pronoun
150–200
Four
Advanced
!
consistency; verbals, conditionals and modal
auxiliaries; connectives;
recombine three and four short sentences into more
complex acceptable English sentences; improve and
correct sentence structures and improve paragraphs
! Real life contexts and highly
! Short, linguistically noncomplex
! Social, familiar, and practical
! Slightly higher level of complexity
! More diverse topics including
! Longer and more complex
! A wide range of topics
! Linguistically complex sentences
predictable common daily
settings
context
academic context
sentences
than novice stage
sentences than previous stages
and short paragraphs
Reading & Vocabulary
40–89
One
Novice
Two
90–125
Low
Intermediate
Three
126–149
! locate basic information
! understand high frequency vocabulary
High
Intermediate
Four
Advanced
!
including personal information
and familiar situations
Topics related to self and
immediate environment
! in addition to skills in novice stage-identify main
! Settings related to personal,
!
!
ideas, distinguish between fact and opinion, draw
conclusions
understand vocabulary presented on a variety of
topics
! in addition to skills in previous stages - identify
!
topic and theme, establish relationships, make
inferences
understand common idiomatic expressions
! in addition to skills in previous stages - analyze text
150–200
! Highly predictable settings
!
using higher level inferential skills such as author's
tone and purpose
understand idiomatic expressions
practical, academic and work
situations
More academic topics with a
clear underlying structure
! Familiar and informal scenario
! A variety of topics including
traditional academic content
! Presented in context within short
sentences
! Very short texts and authentic
materials such as labels and short
personal letters beginning with
approximately 50 words
! Presented in context within
sentences
! Simple narrative and descriptive
multiple paragraph prose
selections up to 280 words
! Presented in context within a
paragraph
! Prose fiction and expository
discourse beginning with
approximately 300 words
! Familiar and informal scenario
! A wide range of topics
including selections related to
business and technology
! Presented in context within a
paragraph
! Complex prose fiction and
expository extended discourse up
to approximately 650 words.