Challenges in the Design and Implementation of an English Placement Test for a Colombian Public University

This reflection paper disseminates the design and implementation of an English placement test for first semester students from different majors. This design was carried out within the framework of a research project in a Colombian public university. The article seeks to scrutinize the stages leading to a test, so that language teachers who embark for the first time on the task of designing placement exams have a model and can anticipate the various vicissitudes of academic and administrative nature that may arise. The conclusions derived from the process of construction and implementation of the test highlight the lack of training and literacy in the area of ​​language testing, as well as the existing tensions between academic expectations and the administration within a university institution.

The Use Of Peer Tutoring To Improve The Passing Rates In Mathematics Placement Exams Of Engineering Students: A Success Story

This paper describes a highly successful peer tutoring program that has resulted in an improvement in the passing rates of mathematics placement exams from 16% to 42%, on average. Statistical analyses were conducted using a Chi-Squared (X2) test for independence and the results were statistically significant (p-value much less than 0.05). These encouraging results suggest that this type of initiative should be institutionalized at the end of the grant period that funds it. The paper describes the structure of the program, the conditions of the university in which it is being implemented, the details of the statistical analyses, and its impact in engineering education. This model may easily be replicated in academic institutions with similar conditions.