For the past few months, COVID-19 has impacted how we interact with the world. The global health crisis has created an enormous amount of stress and uncertainty in people’s lives, and it will continue to influence our actions for the foreseeable future. Depending on where you live, you may find people beginning to re-emerge into the world. Many countries, states, cities, and communities are announcing plans to lift stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, and businesses and schools that had closed because of the pandemic are planning to re-open, following guidelines to do so in the safest ways possible.
At Michigan Language Assessment, we too are eager to return to a life more normal. Yet the prospect of doing so gives us pause. Our mission is to help people achieve their education and career goals by providing trusted English language exams. During the past several months, however, we’ve postponed our exams because of COVID-19—the health and safety of test-center staff, test takers, and those who work at Michigan Language Assessment is our top priority.
As test centers and schools around the world begin to re-open, Michigan Language Assessment is committed to providing support, but at the same time we’ll be emphasizing the importance of testing safely. We are working with our test centers to make necessary adjustments to exam-day protocols, including allowing the use of additional testing rooms or venues, limiting the number of test takers in a room, and asking that adequate distancing is observed between test takers and staff. We’ve also developed a mandatory online course that centers must complete prior to resuming test administration; the content is designed to help center managers take into consideration the many ways they can safeguard the health of their staff and test takers.
Because the regulations and restrictions for public gatherings and business reopening differs across the globe, we are relying on test center management to follow the guidance of their country’s or state’s health authorities. Test centers may have already re-opened where you live, so if you’re looking for the next dates that the ECCE, ECPE, MET, MET Go!, or MYLE will be given, contact your local test center for updates.
We are grateful to center managers who’ve been working with us to reschedule exams to accommodate those whose testing opportunities have been delayed. A certificate or score report is often a critical requirement for attaining the next level in school or when applying to or advancing in a job. The dedication, empathy, resolve, and understanding of all who are involved in English language testing, test preparation, and teaching at this time is commendable.
Thank you, and please stay safe and healthy.