In November and December 2009, telc GmbH initiated a brief survey regarding the current German test for immigrants. The idea guiding the survey was to learn how well the new test had been received by those administering the tests at telc Examination Centres.
The results have been decisive: telc Deutsch Test für Zuwanderer has fulfilled all the expectations placed upon it.
Here some survey results in detail:
1. Administration online: the new German test for immigrants
The latest online versions of the test were explored and evaluated on this point in particular. Now notably improved since January 2010, the new online registration procedure is already registering high acceptance as well as receiving a great amount of (positive?) feedback from the candidates themselves.
More than two-thirds of those responding to the survey rated telc’s online registration good to very good:
The greatest improvement in the examination procedure is, of, course, the greatly reduced timeframe needed for test evaluation – this once time consuming process now requires a total of only three weeks. The positive resonance from the end users became apparent in this survey.
2. Format and Content: the new German test for immigrants
The question of whether or not the new test functioned well from a content standpoint threw up especially interesting answers regarding the difficulty of the test. A relatively large number of participants in the survey perceived the test to be easy rather than difficult:
The test methodology analysis routinely carried out by telc shows indisputably: the German test for immigrants is neither too simple nor too difficult. Recipients of the B1 certificate need to bring as much competence and skill to the new Deutsch Test for Zuwanderer as has always been required for Zertifikat Deutsch.
3. telc Examiners
Enlightening questions were asked regarding the newly developed evaluation criterion, and how well the examiners were able to work with them. At the very least, examiners have been required to adapt to a whole new set of formulations in these tests. According to the survey, telc examiners have completed the transition admirably – the majority by far have reported being able to work with the evaluation criterion well or very well:
