The Listening portion of the Listening and Writing assessment measures a
person’s skill in listening to and conveying information. Test takers act as
employees who write messages to relay information from customers, co-workers,
or suppliers to another person. After listening to an audio message, they must
write a summary based on the information they heard and the notes they took
during the message and its repetition. A specified amount of time is given for
writing before the next message in the assessment is given.
A test taker’s skill level score is based on the accuracy and the completeness
of the information in the written responses. It is not based on mechanics or
writing style. (See the scoring criteria.)
Skill levels range from 1 to 5 and each skill level incorporates the skills
assessed at the preceding levels.
The assessment contains six increasingly complex messages. These audio
messages reflect various workplace settings and are given by male and female
speakers of differing ages and various accents.
