Versant™ English Assessment
Versant™ English Assessment
Versant™ English Assessment
Measure English speaking and listening skills quickly, accurately and reliably
Versant™ English Assessment
Versant™, a smarter way to test language skills
Used by top global companies, local authorities and universities, over 1,000,000 Versant™ English Language Tests are used each year to screen candidates and applicants for proficient use of the English language. If you have hundreds of candidates to screen or require a way of objectively measuring english language skills anytime, anywhere, the Versant™ English Test meets these needs.
Our expertise combined with the accurate and efficient delivery of the Versant™ English assessment, helps organisations with recruitment of new employees, special assignment projects and benchmarking language skills.
Why is assessing English Language proficiency important?
Communication and collaboration are two of the four core skills many organisations expect staff to be competent in. Assessing English Language Proficiency can help organisations:
- Improve quality of communication
- Improve customer relations
- Reduce complaints related to language problems and mis-understandings
- Improve productivity
- Improve alignment across teams and regions
- Contributes to safe-guarding measures
- Enable faster recruitment decisions
- Reduce risk of poor recruitment decisions
The Versant™ English Test for adults is an approved English language test that will also help organisations tailor their staff English language development activities to ensure staff will gain the necessary English training to reach the required English language level.
Use Versant™ to objectively measure English speaking skills:
- Evaluate the ability to understand spoken English
- Evaluate the ability to be understood when English is spoken
- Enable consistent English language proficiency levels throughout your organisation
- Evaluate English spoken language proficiency and objectively.
The Format of the Test – Versant™ English Test Explained
Versant™ English Test only takes 15 minutes to complete, with results delivered in minutes. Candidates respond to different types of questions (63 in total) via web, software or mobile app covering:
- Sentence builds
- Story Retelling
- Short answer questions
- Reading
- Repeats
- Open questions
Results are analysed in minutes and retrieved by the administrator from Pearson’s ScoreKeeper management system. The scores evaluate the candidate’s overall abilities plus their fluency, pronunciation, sentence mastery and vocabulary skills.
NEW Features:
Versant™ + Remote Monitoring
Giving you confidence and security, when testing remotely via a computer. Using AI technology, Versant™ tests including the Versant™ English Test can now be monitored automatically and suspicious behaviour tagged for review. Now candidates can test anywhere, and anytime whilst giving you the insight and confidence you need to select candidates and future employees.
Read the latest news on remote testing >> [external link]
Versant™ Mobile – Pearson’s new testing app
A new way of testing for a mobile-friendly world. Versant™ Mobile is our newest language test delivery method, available right from your smartphone.
- It offers candidates practice tests
- Offline testing when Internet connection is unavailable (and to prevent interruptions during testing)
- Large scale testing for groups of candidates
- Flexible testing – anywhere including off-site testing such as at recruitment events
- 24/7 availability
- Instant scores helping you to make decisions confidently and efficiently.
Why use Versant™ Mobile for your recruitment solution?
With Versant™ Mobile you have a flexible solution that is designed for any testing situation:
- Large recruiting events when speed and scale means everything
- In the office for onsite interviews
- At-home testing as a pre-screening tool
- Offline testing for low bandwidth conditions.
Watch the latest video introducing Versant’s mobile testing app >>
How Versant™ language test administration works
Versant™ language testing is available 24/7 avoiding complications when looking to screen candidates across time zones or logistically. Testing can be completed via mobile app, web or software.
Before the test:
- Test administrators are responsible for providing candidates with the test instructions, creating the test session and assigning the unique Test Identification Numbers (TIN).
- Testing instructions and unique codes can either be downloaded on demand, or auto-sent to the test-takers’ email addresses for off site testing.
- Test administrators prepare their testing site environment, ensuring it is quiet and secure to avoid distractions.
- Alternatively candidates can access the test by smartphone or remote testing online.
- Versant™ test credits are accessed via Pearson’s ScoreKeeper test management account. Within Scorekeeper, administrators can download Versant™ testing materials, view scores within minutes of test completion, and export data. Easy-to-use wizards allow for quick test setup and monitoring of results.
During the test:
- Candidates are required to follow onscreen instructions to set up their equipment and prepare for the test. They then answer the questions as directed onscreen.
After the test:
- Test administrators retrieve the scores via immediate access in ScoreKeeper. Score reports can be downloaded for individuals and groups.
What does Versant™ measure?
Versant™ enables you to assess levels of spoken English language skills necessary for a job. The questions cover the following areas:
- Sentence builds – candidates listen to a group of three short phrases presented in random order and then rearrange them to make a sentence.
- Story Retelling – candidates listen to a series of brief stories and retell them in English and in their own words.
- Short questions – candidates listen to a series of questions, and are instructed to answer in a simple response.
- Reading – candidates should read the sentences as instructed
- Repeat – candidates are required to repeat each sentence they hear.
- Open questions – candidates should respond to two questions after the beep, within a time period of 40 seconds.
The results are then available immediately with a personalised report. Recommended cut-off scores (pass/fail marks) have been carefully calculated but we can work with you to determine job specific bespoke cut-off scores if required.
Reporting
The candidate achieves an overall score with sub-scores in the following areas:
- Pronunciation. This reflects the ability to produce consonants, vowels and stress in a native-like manner in sentence context.
- Fluency. This reflects the rhythm, phrasing and timing evident in constructing, reading and repeating sentences.
- Sentence Mastery. This reflects the ability to understand, recall and produce English phrases and clauses in complete sentences.
- Vocabulary. This reflects the ability to understand common everyday words spoken in sentence context and to produce such words as needed.
Recommended cut-off scores have been carefully calculated but we can work with you to determine job specific bespoke cut-off scores if required.
The score report looks at the candidates current capabilities, recommendations for improvements and coverage of the scores relationship to other other scales that measure or describe language proficiency.
Test Validity
Backed by years of research, the Versant™ approved english language test was created by leading language testing experts. The test had been extensively tested and validated to provide results you can trust when making hiring decisions.
Download a copy of the Validation and Reliability Report >>
How does testing English language proficiency improve the recruitment process?
- Reduce recruitment costs – Versant™ has been proven to help screen applicants on a supervised or unsupervised basis, so that recruitment managers only put those candidates forward for interview, who are able to meet an acceptable level of spoken English. The tests are simple and intuitive for native speakers and for proficient non-native speakers of English. Tests can also be conducted remotely saving travel cost and time.
- Score without bias – Versant™ tests are scored automatically, reducing the risk of inconsistency and human bias. Items have also been reviewed for fairness and bias-free usage.
- Save time – Up-scale your recruitment process by testing thousands of candidates quickly, efficiently and reliably.
- Benefit from our experience – Over 1,000,000 Versant™ tests are used each year. Versant™ is part of the Pearson Talentlens – an approved English language test provider. Verstant™ English tests has proven quality and accuracy, delivering reliable and trusted results. It is used by large corporate companies and local authorities to confidently make selection decisions.
- Quality recruits – Many local authorities and councils use Versant™ as part of their candidate selection process. With safeguarding a key concern, Versant™ can provide assurance that employees or licence holders have the required level of English proficiency, helping to improve safeguarding for vulnerable service users.
Using Versant™ English language test in your recruiting / company
Join the thousands of global businesses that use the Versant™ English Test as part of their recruitment and selection processes.
Contact our team to take a product tour - contact us page
You can also read our latest Insight posts.
Related Pearson resources
Further information on Versant™ products including other Versant™ tests available can be found on the Pearson English Site:
English speaking test
English writing test
Student placement test
Business English test
Other spoken language tests
Alternatively, if you are a test-taker looking to develop your skills you may wish to look at:
Pearson English >>
UK Learns >>
Or seek out support from your local college.
Our experience | Why choose Pearson TalentLens UK
TalentLens is part of Pearson PLC, the world’s learning company and global market leader in assessments. We are an international talent assessment business, using psychometrics to help organisations select and develop top performers and high potential.
Our range of assessments will help with recruitment, staff development and team enhancement. The TalentLens portfolio includes the renowned Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, and Versant™ English Test.
Our Team. Your Service
Many Local Authorities choose tools such as the Versant™ English Test to help them select and develop the right people. Our objective is to provide you with ongoing assistance to review your practices, understand and define your needs, and support you in choosing and using our assessment solutions.
Product Information
| Use | Measure English speaking skills objectively, accurately and reliably |
| Format | Online or Mobile, 17 mins, timed |
| Languages | UK English |
| Price | Available on request |