The Reading Proficiency Interview (RPI): A Rapid Response Test Development Model for Assessing Reading Proficiency on the ILR Scale

The Reading Proficiency Interview (RPI) is a new reading proficiency test format that was created in response to the US government's need to rapidly produce a cost effective and credible reading proficiency assessment format for small-population languages. The RPI was developed in response to a requirement by the National Language Service Corps for an instrument that could be rapidly developed for small volume languages, including those where the need for the testing capability might be short lived. This article discusses the format, development and piloting of the RPI in a language for which no existing proficiency test exists. The format can be applied to other languages, while what was learned from the piloting should be useful to those who apply the format to languages where few highly literate native readers are available.