A standardised and calibrated test

Standardised

A "standardised" test is one which is administered and marked according to a uniform standard.

For the TCF test, this means that:

• Offical testing centres administer the TCF test in compliance with precise standard procedures.
• Marking of examination papers is completely centralised; required test papers are marked by scanner while optional test papers are corrected by the same team of markers using a standardised marking scale.

Calibrated

All of the items in a "calibrated" test are statistically graded according to a common difficulty scale in order to provide a precise benchmark of "ability in French".

For the TCF test, this means that:

• Each item is pre-tested with representative samples from the TCF target population according to a standardised procedure;
• Results are analysed statistically using a procedure which eliminates too difficult or too simple items that:
  • are unsuitable in distinguishing between different levels of language ability;
  • contain inappropriate distractors;
  • cause scores to fluctuate due to irrelevant factors (e.g. gender, nationality, etc.).

Those items that are retained in the live test are statistically calibrated to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the grading system.