Two Firms Partner to Advance the Assessment of Present & Future Employees’ English; Leading Workforce Development Consultant Field Tests Online Testing Platform to Assess

Pittsburgh, PA, April 13, 2008 --(PR.com)-- With the prevalence of global markets, and multilingual and multicultural workforces, employers need to accurately determine how well their present and future workers communicate in English. A new partnership between Babowal & Associates, Inc., a leading workforce development firm, and OWL Testing Software will simplify the process of assessing employees’ ability to effectively communicate in English with internal and external customers and clients.

Babowal & Associates has been developing standardized English assessment tools since 1991 for use in a variety of business, industry and academic settings. Founder Chris Babowal, a member of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)’s Standards Committee, is enthusiastic about partnering with OWL Testing Software to expand the capabilities of their proven testing and certificate programs. “Our partnership with OWL Testing Software will permit us to more efficiently deliver and score our English exams.”

Chris Dalessandri, President of OWL Testing Software, commented, “By using OWL Testing Software, Babowal & Associates will be able to certify the listening, reading, writing, and speaking abilities of workers for their clients. Our collaborative efforts will continue to refine the language assessment process for the benefit of all of our customers -- Babowal & Associates’ customers as well as our own.”

Babowal & Associates, Inc. and OWL Testing Software will be field-testing the online assessments during the month of April, and welcome companies and organizations who wish to participate. Complete assessment and certification programs will be widely available following the field-testing.

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About OWL Testing Software
OWL Testing Software is the leading solutions provider of language test-building software to academic, business, and government markets. Built as a web-based solution for test creation, administration, and management, OWL Testing Software is unique in its ability to create tests for all four communication skills – oral, aural, reading and writing. OWL Testing Software is available as licensed software and as a hosted solution to meet the needs of the largest and smallest schools, businesses, and government agencies concerned with enhancing the language learning process and outcomes. Please visit www.owlts.com or call 412-436-0559 for more information.

About Babowal & Associates
Babowal & Associates, Inc., (B&A), is a leading provider of American English communication and proficiency assessment tools used for individuals who use English for business or speak English as a Second (or Foreign) Language in academic, business and industrial settings throughout the world. The testing process, procedures and methodologies for the listening and speaking skills was developed by the Association of Recognized English Language Schools (ARELS) organization in 1962, and B&A was trained by ARELS and the University of Oxford England to become a provider of high risk language tests. The examinations (Assessments of Language Proficiency, or ALP) are currently set at four levels: Pre-beginning, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. A Junior version of the Beginning level will be available by fall of 2008 for high school, adult education and technical college students participating in business and industry courses. Presently, the tests have a facility coefficient of over 91% and a correlation of scorer reliability of over 93%, which favorably compares with other similar tests.

For more information, please email Chris Babowal at mcbabowal@gmail.com or call her at (408) 504-8899.

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