Paragon Testing, a UBC subsidiary that administers English proficiency tests, was recently acquired by Prometric Canada, the Canadian branch of the US-based company.
In a press release from April 7, Michael Holaday, Paragon’s vice president of business development, wrote that the acquisition will help efforts by Paragon to expand global access to both its Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) test, which is used for Canadian immigration, and its Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) test, which is used for Canadian college and university admissions, including UBC.
Paragon services have already expanded to Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Japan, and Holaday expects Paragon to continue the expansion with the help of Prometric.
“We are working with our colleagues at Prometric on integrating into their testing network of 14,000 test locations,” Holaday wrote in a statement sent to The Ubyssey.
The expansion of Paragon’s tests will be an ongoing process that will last throughout the coming years. In particular, Paragon intends to expand its CAEL test to countries with high volumes of students travelling away to study abroad.
“We will continue to expand CAEL Online to countries that send high numbers of students abroad, because the CAEL test does an unparalleled job of mirroring the experience of learning in a Canadian post-secondary classroom.”
Additionally, Paragon is currently exploring the idea of creating English diagnostic tests to help international students identify their language skill proficiencies and deficiencies.
In response to Paragon's expansion, some UBC international students express optimism.
Denis Lalaj, an Albanian international student at UBC, experienced disadvantages in English proficiency due to a lack of exposure to English instruction.
“A lot of other international students I knew had received instruction in English back in their home country, but my classes were in my native language,” said Lalaj.
Lalaj also said that there are many other UBC students with similar disadvantages in English proficiency.
“I had a few friends back in first year who were in a similar situation as me,” said Lalaj. “But I felt like it was worse for them since a few of them were in the Faculty of Arts, and since I’m in computer engineering, I can handle the technical terms but they needed a higher level of English.”
Exposure to what level of English is expected in Canada is a valuable resource, according to Lalaj, which he believes may be more accessible by the expansion of Paragon's testing services.
“It seems like it can be a good resource to give us an idea of what level of English we can expect here, so I think that its services can be really helpful,” said Lalaj.