Listening Tests & Assessments*

The Brown, Carlsen, Carstens (BCC) Listening Test is a 1995 revision of the first published test on listening comprehension—the Brown-Carlsen Listening Comprehension Test, a test that has been used extensively since its publication in 1955. While the original test was designed to be used in grades 9 through 13, the revised test is normed for use at all college levels as well as among adults of all ages. The BCC test consists of two comparable forms (E 78 and E 87), each comprising 76 test items. The 76 items are grouped into five parts, each measuring a listening skill or skills: recalling items in a sequence (17), following directions (20), recognizing transitions (8), recognizing word meanings (10), and comprehending lecture material—noting details, getting central ideas, drawing inferences, understanding organization, and distinguishing relevant from irrelevant materials (21). The audiotaped test requires less than forty-five minutes to administer. Examinees record their responses on answer sheets that are centrally scored by either mail service or FAX. This test can be obtained through BCC Brown, Carlsen, Carstens, Box 164, River Falls, Wisconsin 54022 (Phone 715/425-9999). TOP

In 1967, the Educational Testing Service added tests of listening in the Cooperative Primary Tests. Approximately thirty-five minutes is required to administer the two forms for grades 1 and 2 and grades 2 and 3. The examiner reads words, sentences, stories, expositions, and poems; and the examinees demonstrate their ability to identify illustrative or associated instances, to recall elements, to interpret the ideas and to draw inferences by marking the appropriate pictures. This test can be obtained through Testing Services, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541 (phone 609/921-9000). TOP

The Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test, designed to determine the ability of children (ages 5 through 8) to recognize the fine differences between English phonemics, was first published in 1958 and revised in 1973. The test consists of two equated forms (1A and 11A), each consisting of 40 word-pairs that are equated in length. Thirty word-pairs differ in a single phoneme, and ten word-pairs do not differ; comparisons are made between thirteen initial consonants (such as coast and toast), four medial vowels (such as pat and pet), thirteen final consonants (such as lease and leash), and ten false choices (such as jam and jam). The examiner orally administers the test to one child at a time, and the examinee is seated so that he/she cannot see the examiner's mouth or the words on the test form. The examiner reads each word-pair only once, and the examinee indicates whether the examiner read the same word twice or read two different words; the examiner records the examinee's responses on the test form. The test requires approximately five minutes to administer. This test can be obtained through Western Psychological Services, 12031 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (Phone 213/478-2061) or Language Research Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 2085, Palm Springs, CA 92263 (Phone 714/327-0039). TOP

The Sheshore Measures of Musical Talent is a widely used standardized test for determining the musical abilities of students wishing to enroll in music programs, conservatories, and academic departments. The test offers some interesting listening experiences for listening students who wish to work on auditory discrimination. The test includes a section on Pitch in which fifty pairs of tones are presented, and the listener is to indicate, on the standardized answer form, whether the second tone is higher or lower in pitch than the first one. A section on Loudness offers fifty pairs of tones, asking the listener to indicate whether the second tone is stronger or weaker. The Rhythm section pairs thirty rhythmic patterns for the listener to determine whether the paired patterns are the same or different. The Time section consists of fifty paired tones of different durations, calling for the listener to indicate whether the second tone is longer or shorter. The Timbre test consists of fifty paired foghorn tones; the listener must determine whether the notes are the same or different in timbre (tonal quality). The Tonal Memory section is more complex, consisting of thirty pairs of tonal sequences (of ten items each) of tone spans from a Hammond organ. The listener must identify in each pair which note is different in the two sequences. It is not necessary to administer the entire test, as each section is scored separately. The test is published by The Psychological Corporation, 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY, and comes complete with a recording, test manual, answer sheets, and scoring sheets. TOP

The Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Test is published by the Kentucky Listening Research Center and is designed for college students and adults, though tenth graders have successfully used the test. The most recent version was published in 1985. The KCLT is designed to overcome certain inherent difficulties in listening tests, in which the test measures intelligence rather than listening. Many tests of listening "comprehension" and long-term recall are isomorphic with typical measures of cognitive and scholastic ability. The KCLT, on the other hand, provides a listening profile consisting of five separate factors: short‑term listening, short-term listening with rehearsal, lecture listening, interpretative listening, and selective listening skill. The constructors of the KCLT note that research has proved these five factors to be separate and distinct and to have different configurations with other types of communicative abilities. For example, good short‑term listeners are usually better at one-to-one interpersonal communication. Good rehearsal listeners do not need to take notes as much as others. More women are good interpretative listeners than men. Research continues in these various configurations. This test, with alternate forms (for "pre-" and "post-" measurement), consists of tapes, a test manual, and answer sheets and can be obtained through Robert N. Bostrom, 233 Grehan Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (Phone 606/257-7800). TOP

The Watson-Barker Listening Test, designed in 1984 to be used by secondary and college students as well as business professionals, consists of two comparable forms. Each form consists of 50 items designed to tap five dimensions of listening: listening for message content; listening to dialogues/conversations; listening to lectures; listening for emotional meaning; and listening for videotape formats. From four spoken or written multiple-choice responses per question, each examinee selects the letter of the response that best represents the answer to each question and then writes that letter on a self-scoring answer sheet. This test can be obtained through Innolect Inc.TOP

[Wolvin and Coakley] recommend that instructors read Steven C. Rhodes, Kittie W. Watson, and Larry L. Barker, "Listening Assessment: The State of the Art," Journal of the International Listening Association, 4 (1990), for a current evaluation of listening assessment. This paper was also presented at the International Listening Association Convention, Atlanta, GA, March 2, 1989. TOP

The ILA is providing this information as a public service. It does not recommend or endorse any one particular listening test or assessment. If you know of other tests or assessments that you feel should be included on this page, please contact the Web Editor.