Category Archives: Tests and Assessments

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”

Awareness of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in tests, assessment, polls and surveys is growing, becoming increasingly indispensable as it both ensures the fairness of tests and the reliability for any data collection instrument. It is a very positive move! We at cApStAn are not  DEI-BR experts per se. We are a language company which partners …

“On-Demand Webinar | cApStAn & DEI-BR in multilingual and multicultural Tests & Surveys – Language variations and cultural considerations”

by Roberta Lizzi – Senior project manager, external human resources director When multinational surveys and assessments go digital, content creators, principal investigators or test owners tend to rely on platforms, not only for delivery, but also for the management of the translation process. These platforms can be off-the-shelf or developed in-house. As a consequence, language …

“Why involving language services providers (LSPs) in the translation platform design is important”

Looking at standardized tests and questionnaire content through the lens of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Bias Reduction (DEI-BR) Standardized tests and questionnaires are used in a variety of contexts such as admission to university, certification, accreditation, or hiring. Fairness, validity and reliability are objectives that every testing organisation strives to address. The processes in place …

“Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Bias Reduction Consultancy”

by Steve Dept, Founding Partner The idiom “these folks mix like water and oil” usually refer to an insuperable difficulty for certain people to blend and see eye to eye with one another. When we were asked to verify the translation of assessments for which it was obvious that linguists alone would not have the …

“Do SMEs and Linguists mix like Water and Oil?”

Et voilà! We are now online! After months of hard work we are delighted to announce the launch of our new website, which reflects our mission, values and brand, and showcases the best of our linguistic services and the great team behind it all. The new features are tailored to help you find the right …

“cApStAn’s new website has launched!”

Steve Dept, cApStAn CEO It may take a psychologist or a subject matter expert to be a test author and develop good questions, but nothing speaks against that person being monolingual, right? It doesn’t prevent them from doing a sterling job. Anglo-Saxon items writing practices have dominated the assessment universe for over half a century, …

“Translatability and Cultural Suitability Workshops for Test Authors”