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The Listening portion of the Listening and Writing assessment measures the examinee's skill in listening to and understanding work-related messages. The assessment is administered via an audiotape which contains all directions and messages. Examinees are asked to listen to the audiotaped messages and then write messages based on the information they have heard. The examinee is placed in the role of an employee who receives information from customers, co-workers, or suppliers, and must then write down the information to communicate it to someone else. This context is provided to help examinees understand that they should include all of the information in their response.
The taped messages reflect various workplace settings, but no prior knowledge of the occupations is necessary. The messages feature both male and female speakers of differing ages and with various accents. Each message is given twice, and examinees are encouraged to take notes. After the message is given the second time, examinees have a specific amount of time to write out the message before the next message is given. Examinees are given 40 minutes to complete six messages, and they may return to work on previous messages at any time during the assessment.
Initially, the messages contain about six pieces of information given by one speaker; by the end of the assessment, messages are given by two speakers and contain approximately seventeen pieces of information. As the assessment progresses and the messages grow longer and more complex, the time allotted to write the messages increases from two minutes to six minutes.
Scoring is based on the accuracy and completeness of the information in the examinee's written messages. It is not based on mechanics or writing style. Two or more raters read each message and assign it a score. Overall scores are then calculated to indicate the particular level of skill for each examinee. Skill levels range from 1 to 5.
Level 1
People with Level 1 skills can write down a small amount of useful information based on a spoken communication. This written information may give clues to the gist of the situation or provide sources of further information, but it does not include enough information to give the receiver a correct understanding of the situation described in the message.
Level 2
People with Level 2 skills can correctly write down the basic ideas of a spoken message, giving a fair amount of useful information, but may miss some of the important details or incorrectly record some of the information.
Level 3
People with Level 3 skills can listen to a spoken communication and record messages that are basically correct, but they may miss one or two pieces of important information.
Level 4
People with Level 4 skills can correctly record all the important information and the relationships among pieces of information, in addition to accurately conveying the central idea of a spoken message. However, they may miss or incorrectly record some details, or include irrelevant information.
Level 5
People with Level 5 skills can correctly record all the important information and the relationships among pieces of information from a spoken message. They also use supporting details to convey insight into the particular situation the message involves.
Note: The Listening score is based on the listening portion of the Listening and Writing assessment. Examinees with limited writing skills may be unable to express themselves well enough in writing to receive a valid Listening score.
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