ALTA is a market leader in foreign language testing, performing thousands of written assessments each year to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. When you need communications prepared in English or another language, whether a letter to a customer, marketing collateral, or other documentation, you can trust ALTA’s writing test to help you determine who among your candidates has the language proficiency to successfully represent your organization in the written materials that reach your audience.
This test measures a candidate’s writing proficiency in the target language. It is available in 80+ languages, and results are available within two business days. ALTA’s writing skills test consists of a variety of prompts that one would encounter in a variety of business settings; however, ALTA can also customize the exam for your organization. All of ALTA’s written exams are scored according to our 12-level scale.
The writing skills test is easy to administer and gives you flexibility to test your candidates at your convenience. The tests are provided to your administrator electronically or as a hard copy (where required). They can be administered at your location at any time under proctored conditions. Any completed tests can be sent back to ALTA for scoring, and results are emailed to your designated company administrator within two business days.
Beginner range (1–5): Writing is limited to isolated words or simple sentences, with frequent grammar mistakes and little to no ability to express opinions or explain procedures.
Advanced range (9–12+): Candidates use both basic and advanced grammatical structures accurately, express opinions and explain procedures fluently, and at the very top, write with the nuance and precision of a native speaker.
The writing test is available in more than 80 languages. See the full list of testing languages.
Yes. While ALTA offers a standard writing test built around common business-writing scenarios, the test can also be customized to reflect the specific communications and terminology used in your industry. This typically involves ALTA reviewing your organization’s documents and job requirements to build a tailored exam.
Results are emailed to your organization’s designated administrator within two business days of ALTA receiving the completed test.
The writing test measures a candidate’s ability to compose original written communication in the target language, describing, explaining, or persuading in their own words. The translation test measures a candidate’s ability to accurately convey the meaning of existing text from one language into another. In short, they assess different skills: the writing test evaluates original expression, while the translation test evaluates conversion accuracy.
The writing test requires candidates to read prompts and produce original written responses. The reading comprehension test requires candidates only to read passages and answer multiple-choice questions, with no writing sample produced. If a role requires employees to draft documents, emails, or reports, the writing test is the relevant assessment; if the role only requires understanding written material, the reading test is sufficient.
To see which languages we provide language assessments for, visit our Testing Languages Offered page.
Should you have any questions about this written language assessment test, just fill out our contact form or call us at 404.920.3832. We will answer your questions, listen to your needs, and help you get started with your testing program.
View our test prep materials or FAQ’s for common questions about taking a test.