Versant

Versant, a smarter way to test language skills

25 years ago, two Stanford professors discovered a smarter way to run English language tests.

They created a tool that predicts how expert human interviewers would score a test, allowing you to get instant, unbiased results, anywhere in the world.

Today, this patented AI technology has scored over 350 million tests, helping Fortune 500 companies recruit, train and promote the right people for the job.

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Test taker support

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Versant infographic - 350 million tests scored since our launch in 1996

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English levels around the world

Our research team analyzed scores from Versant test takers in nine key regions around the world.

Download our Global Snapshot of English Proficiency report to learn about the speaking and writing levels in these areas and how they have changed over time.

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A full testing solution

Speaking: Ensure your new hires and students can be easily understood when they communicate with customers, co-workers or other students.

Listening: Check that job candidates and students can understand what they are hearing on the phone with customers, or in class during a lecture.

Reading: Confirm that staff and students understand what they are reading, whether it be customer or co-worker emails, lecture notes or assignments.

Writing: Evaluate how clearly and effectively an employee can write emails or provide real-time chat support to customers.

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Image of a woman holding a mobile and using a laptop with Versant

Seeing beyond technical skills

Have you ever spoken to a non-native speaker with perfect grammar, but still struggled to understand what they were saying? How easy it is to understand what someone is saying is called intelligibility.

Our Intelligibility Index score gives you extra insight into a candidate’s skills. Use this score alongside the other proficiency subscores provided on the Versant English Test score report to help make decisions about candidates for specific purposes.

Looks at a speaker’s pronunciation, fluency, clarity of expression, and speed of speech

Highly accurate, objective and consistent measurement of intelligibility

Based on extensive research involving thousands of native and non-native English speakers

Developed specifically for use in the Versant English Test, powered by Pearson English’s world-leading AI technology

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“The Versant tests helped us standardize and scale up our recruitment process. This led to significant improvement in the quality of hires on communication skills.”

Abraham Zachariah, Global Head, Learning and Development, Cognizant BPS

Test with a purpose

Recruiting icon — Recruiting

Hire professionals who have the spoken language skills you need for the jobs where speaking is important for clear communication.

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Promotion icon — Promotion

Ensure employees with management potential have the language proficiency to participate in leadership development and move up in the organization.

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Training icon — Training & development

Benchmark employee, teacher and student language levels to place them in training or academic programs, and measure progress after completion.

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Testing is easier than ever

Website delivery: Navigate to your customized testing site to quickly administer the test via web.

Mobile app delivery: Candidates can download our testing app to their smartphone for convenient testing.

Software delivery: Securely test your candidates offline with our software-based delivery option.

Find out how it works

How does Versant solve real-world challenges? Ask our customers.

Customer story: Nikkei

As Asia’s largest business media organization, Nikkei needed to measure the true language proficiency of their current employees and new recruits. They turned to Pearson English’s AI-powered Versant English Test.

Read their story