Frequently Asked Questions

The TOP is designed to examine the oral English ability of international students as they pertain to Teaching Assistant duties. These duties may include, but are not limited to conducting discussion sections, labs, holding office hours and to interacting in English with undergraduate students in the course of normal TA duties. It is not designed to examine teaching skills or knowledge of subject matter. 

 

Students who plan to work as a teaching assistant (TA) at UCLA and are non-US citizens must pass the TOP before working as a TA in any department at UCLA. All noncitizens are considered international students. This includes permanent residents. However, international students who earned their undergraduate at U.S. universities are exempt from taking the TOP.  If you believe that you should receive an exemption from taking the TOP for any other reasons, please contact Graduate Division directly.

 

3. When should I take the exam? 

Students who plan to work as TAs must take the TOP before the quarter they plan to teach. For example, if you plan to work in the Fall, you must take and pass the exam during the September exam dates. Only one exam may be taken per administration. Please consult your department for specific hiring deadlines. 

 

4. Is there an alternative to the exam? 

Currently, there is no alternative to the Exam of Oral Proficiency at UCLA. The TOP Program is currently researching the correlation between successful TOP scores with the new TOEFL-ibt scores, but there is no reliable research on this topic at this time. 

 

5. What if I’ve already taken SPEAK or TSE? 

As mentioned above, there are no alternatives to TOP. SPEAK scores cannot be substituted for TOP. TSE (the Exam of Spoken English) is no longer administered by the Educational Testing Service and therefore the TOP administrators cannot verify these scores. 

 

6. What happens during the exam? 

The exam has 3 parts and is designed to be a simulation of common TA duties, specifically explaining course materials and presenting an academic topic in an interactive manner. Upon arriving to the exam location, the TOP Coordinator(s) will lead you through the activities in the attached PDF (“TOP Task Explanation”). Once you have entered the testing room, you may not leave for any reason. 

 

In addition to the test taker, there are typically 4 people in the exam room: 

- 2 raters will be present during the exam and will score the exam on-site. They may speak to the test taker and prompt him/her to begin specific tasks, but they do not generally ask any questions. 

- 2 questioners act as students in a class, listening to the test taker and asking questions during the exam. 

 

8. What are the exam tasks? 

The exam tasks can be found in the attached PDF (“TOP Task Explanation”). 

 

9. How long does the exam take? 

The exam takes about 40 minutes from the time you step into the registration room to the time you leave the exam room. There are a few pre-exam activities that need to be completed before you actually begin your exam (see #6 for more details). The registration process takes about 10 minutes, and you are given 5-10 minutes to review the Task 2 syllabus.  The actual exam is about 20 minutes long. See #6 above for more details on the time for each task within the exam. 

 

The exam is scored by 2 raters based on a rubric that includes the following 4 components: pronunciation, word choice and grammar, rhetorical organization, and question handling. It is possible to earn a score of 1 – 4 in each of these scoring categories. More information about the 1 – 4 scores can be found in the attached PDF (“TOP Scoring Explanation”). Based on these scores, test takers can earn a score ranging from 2.5 – 10. The scores are broken down into 3 categories: 

 - Pass (7.1 – 10): The student is permitted to TA immediately with no restrictions; 

 - Provisional Pass (6.4 – 7.0): The student is required to take an approved ESL oral skills course (ESL 38A, 38B, or 39B) either before or during the first quarter of TA work. Test takers who get a marginal pass are not permitted to take the exam again; 

 - Non Pass (2.5 – 6.3): The student is not permitted to TA and must take the exam again (in a later exam administration). 

 

11. How do I register for the exam? 

You must register at least 24 hours prior to your desired exam time. You may only take 1 exam per administration (e.g., the Fall administration vs. the Winter administration). To register for the test, go to the following link: http://www.oid.ucla.edu/units/top/registerexam For special testing dates (those designated with an * on the exam schedule), you must notify your departmental student affairs officer that you would like to take the exam (and send them the following information: your e-mail address, phone #, native country, native language, departments to which you’d like your score sent). He/she will then send your information to the TOP coordinators, who will then send you a confirmation e-mail with your exam date/time. 

 

This occurs if you 1) did not register at least 24 hours prior to your desired exam time OR 2) no more exam appointments are available. If this happens, please e-mail the TOP coordinators (top@oid.ucla.edu). 

 

13. What if I missed the registration and I have to TA next quarter? 

No special exams can be requested. If you do not register for an exam time, you must wait until the next exam administration. 

 

14. How do I verify, change, or cancel my exam? 

Go to the following link: http://www.oid.ucla.edu/units/top/verify Please see below for our appointment/cancellation policy. 

 

You will be charged a $50 fee, collected once you do come to take the exam. You will receive a score of “0”, which will be reported to your department. 

 

16. What if I don’t go to my exam appointment? 

You will be charged a $50 fee, collected once you do come to take the exam. You will receive a score of “0”, which will be reported to your department. 

 

- September testing dates: 3rd floor of Rolfe Hall (specific dates to be posted on website) 

- During the academic year: 270 Powell Library (Instructional Media Lab)

 

- Task 1: It is not necessary to prepare for this task. 

- Task 2: Once you check in on exam day, the TOP coordinator will provide you with a written prompt (e.g., a syllabus, a course assignment). During the 5 minutes of preparation time immediately before your exam, you may review the information on this prompt, ask the coordinator clarification questions, and consider how to best organize and communicate the information on the prompt. You may write on the prompt and will take it into the room with you. It will be collected after task 2, however, as you may not have any material in had when completing task 3. 

 - Task 3: This task must be prepared before exam day. No extra preparation time will be provided on exam day. Throughout task 3 you will be asked questions regarding the material you present. 

 

Yes. Go to the following link: http://www.oid.ucla.edu/units/top/sample 

 

Make sure to prepare a topic for task 3 that uses a lot of English language. For example, if you are in a Foreign Language department, you could prepare a lesson focused on a grammatical structure in that language but the information must be presented in English. 

 

21. How do I get my exam score? 

Your exam score will be sent to the e-mail address you provided at registration, no later than 3 business days after your exam day. If for any reason you don’t receive your score within 3 business days, please e-mail the TOP coordinators (top@oid.ucla.edu) so that we can send it to you again. 

 

22. How does my department (or a department I want to TA for) get my score? 

Your exam score will be sent by e-mail to your department (and other departments you designated when registering) no later than 3 business days after your exam day. 

 

23. How do I fulfill the Graduate Division oral skills course requirement for provisional passes? 

The Graduate Division Oral Skills requirement for provisional pass test takers is the following: the test taker must take an approved ESL oral skills course (ESL 38A, 38B, or 39B) either before or during the first quarter of TA work. Please visit the Writing Programs’ website for more information about how to satisfy this requirement: http://www.wp.ucla.edu/index.php

 

24. How can I learn more about my exam performance? 

We highly recommend that test takers make a counseling appointment with a TOP coordinator after their exam. During the appointment, the coordinator will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your test performance so that you can get advice about which ESL class(es) to enroll in, improve your English skills for your TA duties, and/or learn how you can perform better the next time you take the exam (for non-passing test takers only). 

 

Enroll in an ESL oral skills course - Enroll in an English Conversation class at the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars: http://www.internationalcenter.ucla.edu/Programs.aspx - English Conversation Program. Sometimes the TOP coordinators have the names of tutors or can direct you to people who would have those names. 

 

26. What happens if I fail and I need to take the exam again? 

We suggest that you meet with a TOP coordinator to receive counseling regarding your exam performance before taking the exam again. You can register to take the exam again as soon as the exam registration page is up. Marginal pass students may not take the exam again. The TOP is free to students the 1st and 2nd time they take it. For the 3rd and subsequent times, the cost is $50 per exam, collected when the student arrives on exam day. 

 

27. What do I do if I want to file an exemption request for the TOP? 

The TOP office does not grant exemptions for the TOP. If you would like to file an exemption request, you and your department must do this with Graduate Division. 

 

28. What if I have more questions? 

If you have other questions, feel free to contact the TOP Coordinators, Ikkyu Choi and Soyeon Kim, by e-mail (top@oid.ucla.edu) or by phone (310.825.3106). Email is preferred.