This A2 diagnostic test has been designed to assess the language ability of your students before entering an A2 level

course. It reflects the language and skills normally covered in an A1+ level course and it can be used to determine the
areas where your students are strong or weak.

General Marking Guidelines

The test covers Grammar, Vocabulary, Use of English and the four core skills (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking). The full test
has a total of 75 points.

Section Items Points

Grammar 15 15
Vocabulary 15 15
Use of English 5 5
Reading 10 10
Listening 10 10
Writing 1 10
Speaking 1 10
Total 75

The complete test takes approximately 60–70 minutes. The test can also be administered partially, using only the Grammar,
Vocabulary, Use of English, Reading and Listening sections. In this case, the test should take approximately 50 minutes.

You may give the full test or sections of it. Use the following formulas for grading.

Sections Formula

Full test ([student’s total score] ÷ 75) × 100 = percentage score

Grammar, Vocabulary, Use of English, Reading, ([student’s total score] ÷ 55) × 100 = percentage score
Listening

Grammar, Vocabulary, Use of English, Reading, ([student’s total score] ÷ 65) × 100 = percentage score
Listening, Writing

Grammar, Vocabulary, Use of English, Reading, ([student’s total score] ÷ 65) × 100 = percentage score
Listening, Speaking

Recommendations for Remediation

It should be stressed that the diagnostic test is not intended for grading purposes. The value of the test lies in using the points to
see who the very strong or weak students are and dividing the class into subgroups as necessary.

There are complete answer keys for all of the sections, as well as sample answers for the Writing and Speaking sections. The
answer key contains tagged structures, lexical sets and skills which help you identify areas where students are having problems.

For example: 1 A [present perfect]

A student who repeatedly misses items marked [present perfect] may need to review this tense.

In the Teacher’s Resource Centre, you will also find differentiated Extra grammar practice worksheets that can be set for further
practice of the target grammar.

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 ANSWER KEY

Grammar Use of English

1 6
1 haven’t [have got] 1 ’m/am [to be]
2 Where [question words] 2 an [articles]
3 It’s [to be] 3 but [linkers]
4 ’s doing [present continuous] 4 went [past simple]
5 can’t [can/can’t] 5 to [going to]

2
Reading
1 watched [past simple]
2 studying [love + -ing] 7
3 weren’t [past simple of to be] 1 A [detail]

4 Have/flown [present perfect] 2 C [detail]

5 Don’t open [the imperative] 3 C [detail]

4 D [detail]
3 5 A [detail]
1 C [some, any, a/an]
2 A [possessive adjectives] 8
3 C [comparatives and superlatives] 1 F [main idea]

4 A [prepositions of time] 2 NM [detail]

5 B [adverbs of manner] 3 T [inference]

4 F [detail]
5 T [detail]
Vocabulary
4
1 cousin [the family]
2 sugar [food and drink]
3 stormy [weather]
4 mouse [computers]
5 whale [animals]
6 boat [transport]
7 hair [describing faces]
8 drawing [free-time activities]

5
1 bathroom [rooms]
2 feet [parts of the body]
3 bakery [shops]
4 lunch [everyday activities]
5 desert [geographical features]
6 kind [personal qualities]
7 prize [sports]

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 ANSWER KEY

Listening Writing
Audioscript 11
Woman: Hello. I’m writing a newspaper article about the Sample answer
clothes teenagers wear. Could you answer some
I went to Greece last summer. We visited the Acropolis in
questions?
Athens. We also went to an island called Amorgos. It was
Boy: OK. No problem.
beautiful. It was hot and we swam in the sea. It was the best
Woman: Great! So what do you normally wear?
holiday I’ve ever had!
Boy: It depends … I have to wear a uniform at school.
Woman: Do you like wearing a uniform?
Boy: I’m not mad about it but I think it’s OK. Marking criteria
Woman: What do you have to wear? Use the marking criteria below to give a score out of 10.
Boy: Grey trousers, a white shirt and a blue jumper. The 9–10 Complete, mainly accurate and appropriate.
jumper has the school name on it. 7–8 No more than one omission, mainly accurate, rarely
Woman: What shoes do you wear? inappropriate.
Boy: There aren’t any rules about shoes, so I usually 5–6 No more than one omission, minor inaccuracies,
wear trainers. sometimes inappropriate.
Woman: And what clothes do you wear at home? 3–4 Several omissions, noticeable inaccuracies, often
Boy: I usually wear jeans and T-shirts ... I like wearing inappropriate.
comfortable clothes when I’m not at school. 1–2 Many omissions, mainly inaccurate, mostly
inappropriate.
Woman: Who buys your clothes for you?
0 Too little or too incomprehensible to mark.
Boy: Well, my parents buy my school clothes but I usually
buy my jeans and trainers.
Woman: How do you pay for them?
Boy: I get money when I help my parents with jobs at Speaking
home and sometimes my grandparents give me 12
money.
Sample answer
Woman: Where do you buy your clothes?
Boy: I get my trainers in a sports shop but my mum buys Hello Lorena. I’m going to watch the football match this
my school clothes on the Internet. She says they’re evening. Would you like to come? It starts at seven o’clock so
cheaper online. we have to leave at five thirty. We can get the bus there and
Woman: Well, they’re all my questions. Thank you! my dad can collect us.

Marking criteria
9
Use the marking criteria below to give a score out of 10.
1 C [inference]
9–10 Full contribution. Basic and some complex structures,
2 B [understanding opinion] accurate and well-organised. Pronunciation mostly
3 A [detail] clear.
7–8 Adequate contribution. Basic and some complex
4 B [detail]
structures, generally accurate and well-organised.
5 C [detail] Pronunciation mostly clear.
5–6 Adequate contribution. Basic structures, generally
10 accurate and some organisation. Pronunciation
generally clear.
1 article [detail]
3–4 Limited contribution. Basic structures, often inaccurate
2 school [detail]
but some organisation. Pronunciation sometimes
3 comfortable [detail] unclear.
4 jobs [detail] 1–2 Very limited contribution. Basic structures, mostly
5 cheaper [detail] inaccurate and little organisation. Pronunciation
often unclear.
0 Contribution too small or too incomprehensible to
mark.

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