How to use the Presentation Grader

The Presentation Grader is a free tool that scores a candidate's spoken English. You rate what you hear against a simple guide, and the tool gives you one clear grade. The whole process takes a few minutes, and any interviewer can do it.

Who this tool is for

This tool is for recruiters and department heads who run interviews. It works best when you use it with our Presentation Task Generator. First you create the speaking task, then you score the answer here.

Why this matters

You now have the material to test the candidate's spoken English. You can hear how they present ideas and answer unexpected questions.

But one important question remains. How good is their English, really? Is it good, excellent, or fluent? And how do you judge this accurately?

Without a clear way to measure, you are only guessing. You judge the candidate on a feeling, not on facts. Good companies make hiring decisions using facts, because facts are reliable. Your English assessment should work the same way.

The problem

For a fully accurate score, you need a certified English examiner. A native English speaker is not enough.

Assessing English is a specialised skill. It is similar to the skills you use in recruiting and HR. You train for a long time to learn how to assess a person during an interview. You learn to judge whether a candidate fits the company culture, works well in a team, and stays calm under pressure.

The fact that a person speaks English well does not mean they can measure another person's English fairly. English assessment is the same. It needs proper training.

The solution

We know that placing a certified English examiner inside every interview is not practical or affordable.

So our language scientists and assessment specialists at The Language Key built the Presentation Grader. They turned years of assessment experience into one simple tool.

What it is

We did the difficult, technical work for you. We translated the complex criteria that English examiners use into a simple guide. The guide is based on what you can observe and hear. Experts call this guide a "rubric".

Each level in the guide describes the English in plain words. So an interviewer who is not a native English speaker can use it with confidence.

How it works

1. Open the tool. Go to https://best.languagekey.com/best-labs/presentation-grader.

2. Enter the candidate's name. The name only labels this result. Nothing is saved.

3. Score the five criteria, one at a time. The five criteria are Language, Accuracy, Fluency, Clarity, and Interaction. For each one, you read five short descriptions. The descriptions run from Level 5 (the highest) at the top to Level 1 (the lowest) at the bottom. Each description explains, in plain words, what that level sounds like. You choose the description that best matches the candidate. Each description appears in both English and Traditional Chinese.

4. View the result. The tool combines your five ratings into one overall grade. For example, the grade may be "3+", "4=", or "2−". The result also shows what a candidate at this level can do, with clear examples. A chart compares the candidate's score with the typical score in Hong Kong.

5. Save or repeat. Click the download button to save the result as a PDF file. Or click "Grade another candidate" to start again.

How to read the grade

The grade has two parts. The number is the level, from 1 to 5. The symbol shows where the candidate sits inside that level:

• + means exceptional. The candidate is at the top of the level.
• = means solid. The candidate is firmly inside the level.
• − means developing. The candidate is just entering the level.

So a grade of "3+" means a strong Level 3, near the top of that level.

Important notes

• We do not collect or store any data that you enter. The whole tool runs inside your browser. When you close the page or grade another candidate, the information disappears.

• This tool does not give 100 percent accuracy. It brings you to about 85 to 90 percent. For most interviews, this is enough to make a confident, fair decision.

• If your company needs the highest level of accuracy, please book a demo with us. Our complete solution, BEST, runs full speaking assessments from start to finish, with senior examiner grading.