About the test

The Unsupervised test of written expression for level B or C assesses the candidate's knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and other aspects of written expression needed to perform work-related writing tasks required for the B or C level.

• Format

  The Unsupervised test of written expression is an unsupervised internet test. Candidates do not need to be tested in a federal government office, but they must have access to a computer and an Internet connection.

  The 60-minute test (1 hour) has 40 questions:

  • 30 questions count towards the final score;
  • 10 questions are experimental questions and do not count towards the final score.

• Levels assessed and pass marks

  • Only the B or C level is assessed.
  • The required level is determined by the organization that requests the test.
  • Hiring managers choose the pass mark that corresponds to the linguistic proficiency level required for the position:
  • Level B: 17/30 (56%)
  • Level C: 24/30 (80%)

  The requirements for the assessed level (B or C) are defined in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat's Qualification Standards in Relation to Official Languages.

  Level B	Level C
  Ability to write short descriptive or factual texts.	Ability to write explanations or descriptions in a variety of informal and formal work-related situations.
  A person writing at this level can: write with sufficient mastery of grammar and vocabulary to deal with explicit information on work-related topics.	A person writing at this level can: write texts in which the ideas are developed and presented in a coherent manner and in which vocabulary, grammar and spelling are generally appropriate and require few corrections.
  Pass mark: 17 to 30: Meets the requirements of the assessed level	Pass mark: 24 to 30: Meets the requirements of the assessed level
  Note: A person who achieves a score between 0 and 16 does not meet the requirements for level B.	Note: A person who achieves a score between 0 and 23 does not meet the requirements for level C.

• Result and validity period

  • The person who ordered the test is responsible for providing you with your result.
  • Your test result will indicate whether you meet or do not meet the requirements of the assessed level.
  • Your test result is valid for 5 years and will be used to staff the position for which the assessment was conducted.
  • The result may be reused for other appointments within the same organization. However, your result is not transferable to appointments in other organizations.
  • When the validity period expires, the result is valid for an indefinite period, but solely for the position held by the person, as long as the linguistic profile of the position is not raised to a higher level than what the employee was granted.
  • You are responsible for retaining your test result. The Public Service Commission is not managing these results centrally and cannot provide previous test results. Candidates who request their test result from the Public Service Commission will be referred to the organization that requested the test, which is responsible for documenting and tracking these results.
  • Please note that hiring managers may reassess you at any time prior to or after making an appointment should there be concerns about your proficiency level and/or to respect departmental policies on updating expired test results.

• Experimental questions

  Experimental questions are a standard practice for many internationally recognized testing organizations. There are 10 experimental questions distributed throughout the Unsupervised test of written expression for level B or C. These questions:

  • do not count towards the final score;
  • are consistent with the other questions in terms of quality, difficulty and format;
  • are not identified;
  • enable the continuous development of valid and reliable questions and may be used in future versions of the test.

• Protecting test integrity

  All test content is copyrighted material of the Public Service Commission and is designated Protected. It may not be copied, reproduced, translated, distributed or disseminated, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Any unauthorized reproduction, recording and/or disclosure of test content is in contravention of the Policy on Government Security and the use of such improperly obtained or transmitted information could be found to contravene the provisions of the Public Service Employment Act.

  Parties involved in the disclosure or improper use of Protected test content may be investigated under the Public Service Employment Act, where a finding of fraud may be punishable on summary conviction, or may be referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

  The Public Service Commission monitors the Web for inappropriate or fraudulent duplication, in whole or in part, of its assessment tools.