Assessment Criteria

For a student to complete levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 successfully, they need to get a 60 average from all the assessment components throughout the term with a minimum grade of 55 from the final Achievement Test (AT) or get a minimum of 75 from the AT at the end of the term. In order to complete Level 5 -the exit level of the Preparatory Program- students need to get a 60 average from all the assessment components throughout the term with a minimum grade of 60 from the final Achievement Test (AT).

For levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, students who get a 60 average from all the assessment components throughout the term with a minimum grade of 55-60 from the final Achievement Test (AT) fall into the category of borderline pass. The students in this group are given a chance to move on to the next level due to their efforts and performance within the term. As the performance of this group is found to be promising in terms of achieving the outcomes of the new level with a support system, they are offered the same program with additional hours of language instruction. 

Assessment components and the individual percentages for each level per term are as follows:

Attendance 5% 
Students are expected to regularly attend all their lessons in the English Preparatory Program. Absenteeism is recorded each day by the teacher and 5% of the student’s grade point average per term is made up of their attendance. Students are allowed to miss 10 class hours without being penalized. However, absenteeism for every 5 class hours after that results in a reduction of 1 point from the student’s overall attendance average. When a student doesn’t attend 35 or more lessons per term (8 weeks), then this student’s overall attendance average is 0 (zero).

Participation 5% 
Students are expected to come to lessons on time and prepared with their materials, books and notebooks. They are also expected to participate during the lessons. Throughout the term, students are evaluated by each of their instructors according to the criteria, and the grade they get from this component constitutes 10% of their overall grade.

Mid-Term Exam 40% 
The level mid-term exams are administered at the same time and students are informed about the date of their exam. Students who do not take their exam and have a valid report can take a make-up exam. The mid-term exam constitutes 40% of the overall grade.
Online Homework and Studies 10%
The passwords given when students purchase their books are used for the online tasks of this component. The instructors assess these tasks. 10% of the overall grade is made up from this component.

End of Term Achievement Test 40%
This exam is given over two days at the end of each term. One day is allocated for the speaking component of the test and one day is allocated for the written component. This exam comprises 40% of a student’s overall grade. Students are required to get a minimum of 55% from the final AT for levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and a minimum of 60% for Level 5 regardless of their overall score. However, if a student is awarded 75% or more from this test, they can go on to the following level regardless of their termly grade point average.

P.S.: According to an analysis of data collected over the years, there is a link between the mid-term and final exam grades of a student.  There is at most a 3-point discrepancy between the final exam grade and the mid-term grade for 95% of the students. This indicates that regular class attendance and participation is effective in increasing the termly and end-of-year success rate of the students.