Category Archives: Test translation and localisation

Testing in diverse contexts requires adapting items into multiple languages with a focus on cross-cultural equivalence. Testing organizations are increasingly motivated to bring their solutions to new audiences, new regions and new cultures. If this is of interest to you and you are attending this conference, please visit us at exhibit booth #203 for a chat with our …

“ATP Innovations in Testing 2023 Conference is almost here and we are excited to meet you in Dallas soon!”

The 2023 Association of Testing Publishers (ATP) Innovations in Testing conference will be held in-person on March 12-15 2023 in Dallas, Texas (USA). The assessment industry is evolving and testing professionals and assessment programs continue to adapt to new ways of learning and testing with the goal of improving outcome. The conference provides a unique …

“A panel of experts at ATP 2023 will discuss key issues related to equity and fairness in tech-based assessments”

In the 21st century, “accessibility” often includes language, but translating a test into the strongest language of all test takers may not be realistic. Nevertheless, passing or failing a test should not depend on reading proficiency. Tests and exams are a gate for life chances and—unless being proficient in the language of the test is …

“How fair is it to deliver your exams only in English?”

With the epic backdrop of geopolitical turmoil and environmental urgency, it may seem awkward to dwell on our minute successes. What with the barbaric invasion of Ukraine? What with the courageous revolt of the Iranian people in general and of Iranian women in particular? What about the denial of the right to education for Afghan …

“Walking at a Brisk Pace, by cApStAn’s co-founder Steve Dept  “

It has been a privilege for cApStAn to work on the test translation and adaptation section of the Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment of the International Test Commission (ITC) and the Association of Test Publishers (ATP). Quoting cApStAn co-founder Steve Dept “this monumental resource was compiled, reviewed, carefully edited, discussed with some of the most knowledgeable experts in the field, is packed …

“Just out: the new ITC/ATP guidelines on tech-based assessment. Proud to have been a part of this!“

Last week, cApStAn co-founder Steve Dept attended the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) Exchange, held in Savannah, Georgia (USA), for the first time. The credentialing and accreditation community shows exemplary dedication to advancing and promoting best practices, which constantly evolve, he commented. Some of the hottest topics this year were undoubtedly fairness, diversity, equity and inclusion. Steve had …

“cApStAn LQC joins the international credentialing and accreditation community at the EXG 2022 “

For the 9th consecutive time, cApStAn will guide the translation and adaptation teams of all PISA participants in translating assessment instruments so that they remain comparable internationally. In this cycle, cApStAn will provide training and support to 90+ translation teams and ensure linguistic equivalence across 120+ locales (a locale is language-country combination). PISA 2025 is …

“cApStAn joins forces with ACER and OAT to implement PISA 2025“

It’s a wrap ! A successful edition of the 2022 European Conference of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) just drew to a close. Three days of intensive networking with experts from the assessment world. And, of course, attending sessions, round tables and panels to be aware of the pioneering breakthroughs in the industry. The closing keynote …

“Successful edition of the 2022 European Conference of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) has just drawn to a close”

The latest edition of the International Education Association (IEA)’s newsletter, the IEA Insider, is just out! It is released annually at their General Assembly and this issue features an article by cApStAn founder Steve Dept. In the article Steve talks about cApStAn’s experience with machine translation (MT) and (human) post-editing, and reflects on the role …

“Latest “IEA Insider” now out featuring article by cApStAn LQC co-founder Steve Dept”

If “how many sides does a hexagon have?” translates to “how many sides does a six-sided figure have?” in language X, then the translated item will not measure the same knowledge or skill. In benchmarking studies, however, comparability across different language versions of an item or question is not merely an objective, it is a …

“Live Webinar | Test and Questionnaire Adaptation – When Straightforward Translation Doesn’t Work”

It is true that (much) more than half a century of research into machine translation (MT) has not resulted in a technical solution that comes close to “human parity”, contrary to claims based on obsolete metrics such as BLEU scores. It is also true that we have witnessed significant progress in the quality of raw …

“Why TAUS’ 3-step recipe for better machine translation does not work for all”

What is meant by “fairness” in tests? How is “fairness” related to “validity”? How do you preserve fairness of a test across languages and cultures in multilingual assessments? How do different cultural backgrounds influence fairness and test results? These are some of the issues addressed by cApStAn co-founder Steve Dept at a recent talk as …

““Your fairness is not my fairness”: culture-driven perception shifts and what can be done about them”