Ode to the Praxis II: Spanish World Language Exam

       Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking the 3-hour long Praxis II Exam for Spanish. I can honestly say it is the most nerve-wracked I have ever been during an exam, including the exam for my Interpreting class the second semester of my senior year at Wake. My professor at the time told us that being an interpreter is one of the most high-stress professions in existence and assured us that our final exam would "knock us off of our high, Spanish horses." The exam consisted of listening to a 20-minute long recording in Spanish and interpreting it into English as it played. That meant listening to and comprehending the Spanish well enough to then re-produce the material word for word in English... Not an easy task. That being said, I felt even more anxious walking into the Prometric Testing Center yesterday afternoon. 
       Now I'm not going to disclose any of the information from the exam, but I do want to point out the substantial technology that the test employed. As of October 15, 2010, the Praxis II Exam for Spanish changed from paper-based to computer-based. This means that the entire exam (all 3 hours of it) is presented on a computer. The exam not only changed in terms of its format, but also in terms of its components. Again, all of this information is available on the ETS website, so I'm not giving anything away here that isn't already clearly stated by the company. The Praxis II Spanish Exam now includes a listening section, writing section and recording speaking section. All test centers administering the exam are equipped with computers and attachable headsets so that test-takers can listen to the recorded material, type essay questions (including accent marks) and record themselves speaking Spanish.
       To some, this use of technology in testing might not seem significant. But consider how teachers were formerly assessed... Without such technology, test graders had no way to determine a prospective teacher's speaking ability in the target language, which many would argue is a foundation for teaching a new language to students. Consider the exam before it was computer-based... Graders measured a teacher's ability to teach Spanish based on the answers on a few pieces of paper. 
       No matter the type of technology used, I think it's really interesting to consider how far we've come in the world of technology. Furthermore, it's interesting to consider that students aren't the only ones being assessed with the aid of technology. If standardized test-makers are going so far as to assess pre-service teachers' content area proficiency through the use of a computer, shouldn't all teachers consider applying such technology to their classrooms? Just something to think about until the next time... 
       ¡Hasta la próxima!