Originally developed by the U.S. State Department\u2019s Foreign Service Institute (FSI), and still known to many as the FSI scale, the ILR<\/a> scale has been adopted as the standard measure of language proficiency for all U.S. Government agencies. The ILR describes learner proficiency on a rising scale ranging from 0-5, using plus (+) level designations between each base level to indicate that, while a learner has mastered the base level below and is able meet some of the requirements for the base level above, they are not yet able to sustain performance at that higher level.<\/p>\n There is no actual \u201cILR exam\u201d. The ILR does not actually administer tests. Rather, various government agencies use the ILR proficiency descriptors as a common measure of performance on their own specific language exams. The Foreign Service Institute, for example, administers their own custom language tests developed for Foreign Service officers, while the Defense Language Institute administers a different battery of tests developed for military personnel. I wouldn\u2019t get your hopes up just to dash them like this though! While ILR-based tests are only available to U.S. government employees, the ILR\u00a0does<\/em>\u00a0offer\u00a0self-assessments, which you can find in the \u201cSelf Assessment\u201d section at the bottom of\u00a0this page<\/a>. Want something more formal? Check out the next two options!<\/p>\n Developed from the ILR scale, the ACTFL scale has 4 main levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior), the first 3 of which are divided into 3 sub-levels (Low, Mid, and High). The guidelines for these levels are quite specific, especially at the lower levels. You can read about them on the ACTFL site\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image by ACTFL<\/p><\/div>\n Unlike the ILR, ACTFL does administer proficiency tests\u2014more than 200,000 every year! They offer oral proficiency tests in more than 100 languages, and also administer separate tests for measuring listening, reading, and writing proficiency. You can learn more about these tests\u00a0 on the ACTFL site\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Designed by the\u00a0Council of Europe<\/a>, the CEFR is widely accepted as the European standard for measuring language proficiency. The framework consists of 6 levels, with fully elaborated descriptors and can-do statements for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A global scale is also provided to make it easier to communicate the system to non-specialist users and to provide teachers and curriculum planners working in different countries and languages with common orientation points:<\/p>\n Image from Council of Europe<\/p><\/div>\n Similar to the ILR, the Council of Europe does not offer a \u201cCEFR exam\u201d. Various testing centers and universities throughout Europe offer their own exams, aligned with the CEFR scale. If you\u2019re looking to determine your CEFR level in a given language, you\u2019ll want to sign up for one of these exams, such as:<\/p>\n Language proficiency is a continuum, and any attempt to divide that continuum up into distinct levels of proficiency will be imperfect. The ILR, CEFR and ACTFL proficiency scales each emphasize slightly different aspects of language proficiency and establish boundary markers at different points along that continuum. As such, they are not strictly comparable and one can\u2019t really say that a particular level on one scale is the same as a given level on another scale. But many are interested in how the scales are related, so here\u2019s an approximate comparison chart for receptive skill proficiency that many in the language community would consider imperfect, but not too far off.<\/p>\n\n
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Scale (ACTFL)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2014\/10\/ACTFL-Scale.jpg\")
<\/a>Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"measuring](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2014\/10\/cefr.jpg\")
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How do these proficiency scales relate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2014\/10\/ACTFL-Scale-270x350.jpg\")