Category Archives: Tests and Assessments

Translation and localisation has traditionally been a cost centre, and the work performed by professional translators was mostly paid by word, by line, by page. Today, this model has become meaningless: translating half a million words or generating 100 pages directly in a foreign language can be done faster and cheaper than crafting two or three …

“Leveraging Translation Technology with Discernment | The Keys to Smart Localisation unveils on August 27, 2025”

Andrea Ferrari, cApStAn co-founder You are going to administer a test or questionnaire in multiple countries, cultures, and languages. We don’t need to convince you that the reliable validation of translated data collection instruments requires­ a robust Linguistic Quality Assurance (LQA) design. A design that focuses on equivalence, comparability as well as appropriateness in each …

“Setting up a robust Linguistic Quality Assurance process for your tests and assessments on a low budget”

On 16th Jan 2025, our founder Steve Dept had a chat with Tim Burnett, founder of the Test Community Network, who is also a speaker, podcaster, teacher (non-exhaustive recognition list) with a mission to build thriving communities within the educational technology sector. Tim is an experienced and active member of the global educational technology community …

“The Art and Science of Assessment Translation | Interview | Steve Dept | Tim Burnett”

There is no shortage of C-Suite executives and founders who prompt generative AI to provide an optimistic outlook of the coming year. This exercise is typically associated with humble bragging (a frequent oxymoron) about achievements. So, is it anachronic to use a plain rearview mirror for hindsight, an old-fashioned sonar to sound depth, and a …

“Putting into perspective the rearview mirrow, the sonar and the periscope | Steve Dept, Founding Partner”

At cApStAn we strongly believe in the need to perform more “upstream” quality assurance work to reduce the need for “downstream” corrective action. In cApStAn’s modular approach, the creation of glossaries comes under module B, related to the preparation of a translation project. A glossary consists of a collection of terms that need to be …

“The role of glossaries in ensuring the validity and equivalence of tests/surveys across multiple languages“

Psychometric tests in technology-rich environments, adaptive psychological tests, social and emotional skills, and profiling tests have gone multinational, thereby increasing the need for translation and adaptation into multiple languages. Our twenty years of experience in test translation have resulted in a vast knowledge base of linguistic features known to drive or affect psychometric characteristics of …

“Psychometric tests often have high stakes: how to address potential biases and other challenges when adapting them in multiple languages”

At the International Test Commission’s (ITC) biennial conference, in Granada, ITC President-Elect Kadriye Ercikan (She/her/hers) will pick up the baton from President Stephen G. Sireci. cApStAn’s Founder Steve Dept (he/him/his) was just co-opted to serve a four-year term on the ITC Council. Steve looks forward to working with his peers, researchers and practitioners alike, to disseminate …

“Steve Dept, Founding Partner of cApStAn LQC, co-opted to serve a 4-year term on the ITC Council”

cApStAn organises its linguistic services in 20 modules grouped into 4 moments of a localisation project. Depending on your requirements, we combine different modules, like building blocks, to form the most suitable design for your project. Fill out the form to receive the document now

No comparative surveys without comparable data Twenty-four years ago, cApStAn started developing, testing, fine-tuning and implementing methods to ensure comparability between different language versions of tests and questionnaires. That was our core activity and it still is. Tests and questionnaires are measurement instruments. They measure knowledge, skills, attitudes, trends, or opinions. They link data points …

““cApStAn at a scale”, Jan Denys, CEO, and Steve Dept, Founding Partner”

December 5 2023 marked the official launch of the PISA 2022 results. PISA is world’s most significant international large-scale education assessment. These results inform education policies and stakeholders across the globe. They allow benchmarking of education systems and enable participants to look at effective teaching practices. They also help identify investments in education that yield …

“The PISA 2022 results are out! cApStAn is proud to have been a part of this important scientific endeavour”

I am Andrea Ferrari, an Italian national, born in Peru. I was exposed to a multicultural environment from early on, living and studying in Canada, Italy, Australia, Greece, and Belgium. I earned a degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay Business School, Brussels, did a stint with a major multinational (Procter & Gamble) but switched …

““Navigating the Seas of Linguistic Quality: A Chronicle of cApStAn’s 22-Year Odyssey” “

Founders of boutique language solution providers are often overrated and cApStAn is a case in point in this regard. I am Steve Dept, a linguist by training—though not a translator—and a polyglot, initially because my parents travelled a lot: before the end of secondary school, I had attended 14 schools in 4 different languages. While attending German …

““What it takes to build a boutique language solutions provider: a cApStAn founder nails it””