On March 18, 2024, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education has extended the use of the current ESL educational functioning level descriptors and the approval of BEST Plus 2.0 and BEST Literacy for use by federally funded programs that report data through the National Reporting System (NRS) through June 30, 2025. Until June 30, 2025, the current ESL educational functioning level (EFL) descriptors and the new ESL educational functioning level descriptors will be in effect, and both generations of BEST Assessments will be accepted. After June 30, 2025, BEST Literacy and BEST Plus 2.0 will no longer be accepted for NRS reporting purposes or offered for purchase by CAL.
The new generation of BEST Assessments – BEST Plus 3.0 and BEST Literacy 2.0 – are approved for the NRS reporting purposes through July 13, 2030. BEST Literacy 2.0 is available for purchase now!  BEST Plus 3.0 will launch in 2024. Training, tests, and materials will be available for programs at this time. Training for new and existing BEST Plus 3.0 Test Administrators will be available as a self-paced self-access online training course which will be free of charge for a limited time.
Programs must use the same generation of assessment for pre-test and post-test.
Read the Federal Register official notice.
The BEST Plus 2.0 and BEST Literacy tests are approved for NRS accountability reporting through June 30, 2025. Programs are free to choose either generation of BEST assessments during the transition period.
After June 30, 2025, BEST Literacy and BEST Plus 2.0 will no longer be accepted for NRS reporting purposes or offered for purchase by CAL.
No. For scores to be comparable, you should always pre- and post-test with the same generation of test. For example, if you pre-test with BEST Plus 2.0 you should post-test with BEST Plus 2.0.
No. Unfortunately, CAL is not able to provide credit for any remaining BEST Plus 2.0 or BEST Literacy tests. We recommend monitoring your remaining tests (your BEST Plus 2.0 test balance can be accessed on the test activation website) and ordering only what you need until your program transitions fully to the newer tests.
CAL created BEST Plus 3.0 with the following updates:
Updated training and test materials accompanying these updates will be released soon. More information will be available in the BEST Plus 3.0 Test Administrator Guide and the BEST Plus 3.0 Technical Report.
Yes, you may still complete BEST Plus 2.0 training. CAL will be conducting virtual training workshops for BEST Plus 2.0 Test Administrator candidates and will be posting the workshop registration information on the BEST Plus 2.0 Training webpage. You may also contact aea@cal.org to be put in contact with a local trainer. BEST Plus 2.0 training will allow you to administer the BEST Plus 2.0 test as soon as possible, and it will provide foundational knowledge for the BEST Plus 3.0 training. Existing test administrators may choose to skip the first part of the new training which covers existing content and scoring formats, or take it as a refresher. Materials from the entire training will be included in the final certification quiz.
Yes, BEST Plus 3.0 includes brand new question types and a new scoring category. Therefore, all prospective BEST Plus 3.0 test administrators are required to complete training, including those currently certified to administer BEST Plus 2.0.
CAL will soon offer a brand-new self-access, self-paced, online training course for BEST Plus 3.0. This training will be free of charge for all users for a limited time for existing BEST Plus 2.0 users and those who are new to BEST assessments.
CAL will soon offer a brand new self-access, self-paced, online training course for BEST Plus 3.0. This training will be free of charge for all users for a limited time. This includes existing BEST Plus 2.0 users and those who are new to BEST assessments. Once local trainers have been certified as BEST Plus 3.0 trainers, they may offer additional training opportunities in your state.
Because BEST Plus 3.0 contains new question types and a new scoring category, BEST Plus 3.0 training will be slightly longer than the current BEST Plus 2.0 training. CAL is currently developing BEST Plus 3.0 training materials, and more information about the training will be available soon.
CAL will communicate with current trainers about upcoming requirements.
CAL recommends that BEST Plus 3.0 be given as a posttest after a minimum of 40 hours or one semester of instruction following pre-testing. Learner- and program-related factors may warrant varying from these recommendations. For programs receiving federal funding, BEST Plus 3.0 should be administered as a posttest based on the requirements defined in their state’s assessment policy.
BEST Literacy 2.0 and all training materials are now available for purchase! This test is approved for NRS accountability reporting through July 13, 2030.
CAL created BEST Literacy 2.0 with the following updates:
Please note: BEST Literacy 2.0 measures examinees’ performances from NRS Level 1 through NRS Level 4. Examinees who are above NRS Level 4 will exit out of BEST Literacy 2.0.
More information can be found in the BEST Literacy 2.0 Test Manual.
Yes. Test administrators and/or scorers are required to read through the BEST Literacy 2.0 Test Manual before beginning administering and scoring the test. An optional self-access, self-paced online training course is also available for purchase as an additional training resource.
BEST Plus 2.0 is an individually administered, face-to-face oral interview designed to assess the English language proficiency of adult ELLs in the U.S. An adult is anyone 16 years or older who is not in secondary school.
BEST Plus 2.0 measures the examinee’s ability to communicate in English through questions tied to authentic situations that arise in daily life in the United States such as going to the doctor, getting a job, housing, and community services. The question types range from simple picture description questions to questions that require elaborate and organized discourse.
BEST Plus 2.0 is administered individually by a trained BEST Plus 2.0 test administrator.
BEST Plus 2.0 measures the full range of current proficiency levels from Student Performance Levels (SPLs) 0 through 10 and all six National Reporting System (NRS) Educational Functioning Levels. For SPL descriptors, see the Quick Links section on the BEST Plus 2.0 web page.
Yes. All test administrators must complete the six contact-hour test administrator training workshop and be approved by a certified BEST Plus 2.0 trainer prior to administering BEST Plus 2.0. Learn more about BEST Plus 2.0 Test Administrator Training.
BEST Plus 2.0 takes 5 to 15 minutes to administer with an average of 6 to 8 minutes depending on the examinee’s level of oral proficiency. Higher proficiency speakers (SPL 7-10) usually take longer than speakers with lower proficiency because they are asked more questions and their responses tend to be longer and more complex.
The score report contains the following information:
All score reports can be viewed through the included score management software.
BEST Plus 2.0 is available as either a computer-adaptive version or as a semi-adaptive print-based version. The computer-adaptive version of BEST Plus 2.0 requires one computer for every test administrator. The BEST Plus 2.0 software runs on Windows XP or higher and requires an open USB port for installation. The USB is not required to run the software after installation.
The print-based version also requires at least one computer be available at the time of scoring in order to convert the raw scores from the test booklets into reportable scale scores using the score management software. However, access to a computer is not needed at the time of testing.
The print-based version is administered in the same manner as the computer-adaptive version except the test administrator writes the scores in the test booklet, uses a Picture Cue Book for the picture description questions, and manually enters the scores into the score management software to get a complete score report. All of the test items in the print-based version are drawn from the same item pool as the computer-adaptive version. The primary difference is the printbased is semi-adaptive in that it has three fixed forms (D, E, and F) and three sublevels per form.
The decision to use either the semi-adaptive print-based version, computer-adaptive version, or both should be based on your capacity to administer the test. If your testing site does not have computers available when testing or laptops are too cumbersome to transport from one site to another, then you should consider using the print-based version. Keep in mind that access to a computer is required to convert the semi-adaptive print-based raw scores into scale scores.
Even if you use the computer-adaptive version exclusively, CAL recommends that copies of the print-based version be available as backup to allow for testing under all circumstances.
Yes. You will need at least one computer to convert the raw scores into scale scores using the score management software.
The first step is to attend a BEST Plus 2.0 test administrator training workshop either through your program, state, or CAL. Once you and your staff have been trained, we can help you order the materials you’ll need to get started. Learn more about BEST Plus 2.0 Test Administrator Training Workshops.
In order to administer BEST Plus 2.0, you will need the following:
Materials received at training
Materials to be purchased before testing:
Test administrators must have the Test Administrator Guide and Scoring Rubric available during testing.
Visit the Resources section of our website to view a complete list of CAL’s Adult ESL Assessment Resources with links to the corresponding page on the CAL Store. You can order online at the CAL Store or call 1-800-551-3709 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time
No. Performance on BEST Plus 2.0 does not predict performance on BEST Literacy. You may need to check with your state’s assessment policy or program director on how each assessment is to be used within your state.
Laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and other related federal, state, and local laws were enacted to guarantee equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities, including those in educational programs. Programs administering BEST Plus 2.0 are responsible for providing accessible services and for ensuring that requests for accommodations are considered and handled in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Program and test administrators may provide and allow accommodations in test administration procedures or in the testing environment for individuals with disabilities, provided that the accommodations do not compromise the purpose or results of the test. For example, the test administrator cannot show the prompts on the screen or in the test booklet to a person with a hearing impairment nor may a sign language interpreter be used. A permissible accommodation for BEST Plus 2.0 would be the use of hearing aids. Likewise, a test administrator cannot explain the content of a picture cue prompt to a person with a visual impairment. An appropriate accommodation would be the use of a magnifying glass to enlarge the image. BEST Plus 2.0 is not appropriate for use with individuals whose visual impairment prevents them from seeing the picture cue prompts even when enlarged or otherwise enhanced. Skipping picture questions is not a reasonable accommodation for individuals with visual impairments.
BEST Literacy tests reading and writing skills in authentic situations specifically geared for adult English language learners in the United States.
Test items include reading dates on a calendar, addressing an envelope, writing a check, reading a schedule, writing personal information, reading articles and other documents, and writing a short personal note.
BEST Literacy measures reading and writing skills and correlates to Student Performance Levels (SPL) 0 to 8 and the National Reporting System (NRS) Educational Function Levels from Beginning ESL Literacy to Advanced ESL. See this link for SPL Descriptors.
CAL does not require BEST Literacy training; however, BEST Literacy test administrators and scorers must read and review the BEST Literacy Test Manual before and after administering the test. Individual states and programs may have their own training requirements in order to administer BEST Literacy. Please check your state’s or funder’s assessment policy for more information about using BEST Literacy.
BEST Literacy does not require the use of computers.
To get started using BEST Literacy, you will need to know how many students you will be pre- and posttesting to determine the number of test packets to order. Test booklets and corresponding scoring sheets are sold in packets of 20 per form (B, C, and D).
You will also need to order enough copies of the Test Manual for your test administrators and scorers to read and review before and after testing. Next, you will want to contact your state’s or funder’s professional development office or coordinator to find out if the state requires BEST Literacy training.
BEST Literacy materials can be purchased online through the CAL Store or by calling 1-800-551-3709 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time.
Quick CAL Store Links:
Order the BEST Literacy Test Manual.
Order BEST Literacy Examinee Test Booklets
Yes. The students will write their answers in the test booklets. Test booklets are consumable and cannot be photocopied or reused.
A total of 20 corresponding score sheets are included with each shrink-wrapped packet of 20 test booklets.
