AI marking of the Dynamic Speaking Test

The AI marks the way an experienced human rater would – looking at several subskills and combining them into an overall score:

Pronunciation: clarity and accuracy of speech sounds.
Grammar: the range and accuracy of grammatical structures.
Fluency: the flow and pace of speech.
Vocabulary: the range and appropriate use of words.
Task Achievement: real communication – the communicative competence at the heart of the CEFR. The AI checks that the response actually addresses the question asked, so a pre-prepared answer won’t score well, however fluent.

The AI assessing the five speaking sub-skills

Is it accurate?

In 2024, the AI and a panel of experienced human raters independently scored the same set of student responses. Human and automated scores showed a very high level of consistency:

The scores given by the group of experts aligned closely with those generated by the AI system. There was a high degree of agreement between human evaluators and the AI technology.

Explore the human vs. AI scoring analysis →

Read the full report →

The Dynamic Speaking Test running on laptop, tablet and phone

The team behind the test

The Dynamic Speaking Test has been shaped by four prime movers: ClarityEnglish, the publisher, and three independent specialists in language testing and assessment.

ClarityEnglish – ClarityEnglish has been publishing digital English learning and assessment resources since 1992, and currently runs over five million online learning sessions a year. Clarity provides the platform that delivers the Dynamic Speaking Test, along with customer support. (And you’ll always be talking to real people.)

Martin – Head of Assessment at ClarityEnglish, responsible for managing the content creation for Clarity test products and ensuring ongoing quality control. Martin is an experienced publisher of language learning and assessment resources, specialising in the development and creation of online tests.

Laura – Joint designer of the Dynamic Speaking Test, also responsible for devising the original items. Laura is an English teacher and test writer specialising in digital language assessment and materials development across all CEFR levels, in particular for telc Language Tests.

Sean – Joint designer of the Dynamic Speaking Test, also responsible for devising the original items. Sean is a language assessment specialist with more than 20 years of experience in developing CEFR-aligned language assessments, particularly for online testing platforms. He worked for many years at telc Language Tests.

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