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Ordinate Corp. Launches Fully-Automated Spoken Spanish Test; Test Adopted by Canadian Foreign Service and U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityMENLO PARK, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- June 16, 2005 -- Ordinate Corp., the leading provider of automated spoken language assessments, announced today the availability of its automated Spoken Spanish Test. The test was originally created for the Special Operations Forces Language Office (SOFLO) of the United States Defense Department and is now available to corporations, educational institutions and government organizations. The Spoken Spanish Test is a standardized, fully-automated test of Spanish speaking and listening abilities that takes just 15 minutes to complete. It was developed following the success of Ordinate's flagship 10-minute Spoken English Test. Earlier this year, the company announced that it had also completed a test of spoken Dutch. Ordinate's spoken language proficiency tests are administered over the telephone and scored automatically, with results provided online, typically within minutes after completing the test Ordinate anticipates wide use of the Spanish test. According to Larry Preiser, Ordinate's executive vice president of sales and marketing, "The Spoken Spanish Test is an effective and user-friendly tool for Human Resource managers to use to support candidate selection and employee training. Educational institutions can use the test for placement purposes and to assess students' language proficiency." The Canadian Foreign Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have already adopted the Spoken Spanish Test. At the Canadian Foreign Service, the test is a required language exercise for Canadian diplomatic personnel currently studying Spanish at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute's intensive professional proficiency training program. "Diplomats are often placed in situations where they need to react quickly in a foreign language," said Claude Sylvie Alschuler, deputy director of the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. "We take pride in knowing that our diplomats have excellent language skills. The Ordinate Spoken Spanish Test is currently being used as a quick and efficient way to assess ability in everyday spoken Spanish. We have had positive comments from users who appreciate the immediate feedback feature." At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Spoken Spanish Test has been incorporated into the training of Customs and border protection officers. "Adoption of the Spoken Spanish Test by the Canadian Foreign Service Institute and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicates the fairness, accuracy and reliability of Ordinate's technology," said Jared Bernstein, president of Ordinate Corp. "In international relations, nothing is more important than effective communication. We are pleased that the Spoken Spanish Test will now be available to all organizations that can benefit from this technology." About Ordinate Corp. and Harcourt Assessment, Inc. Ordinate Corp. (www.ordinate.com), a subsidiary of Harcourt Assessment, Inc., was founded in 1996 to develop advanced language testing systems based on new techniques that use speech recognition to score spoken language proficiency. Ordinate combines recognition of spoken utterances with analysis of the manner of speaking to determine language proficiency and other speaker characteristics. Ordinate's augmented speech analysis technology sets a new standard in language testing for speed, accuracy, cost and convenience. Harcourt Assessment (www.harcourtassessment.com) is a leading provider of high-quality assessment instruments and testing programs used by educators, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, human resource professionals, admissions and credentialing professionals, and businesses. The company is a unit of Harcourt Education, which is the global education brand of Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE:RUK) (NYSE:ENL). Reed Elsevier is a world-leading publisher and information provider operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors. |
