Note:This project is completed

Go To Institutional CELBAN to find more information about the test

  Institutional CELBAN for Internationally-Educated Nurses (non-official version of CELBAN)

This new institutional version of CELBAN is being funded by the Government of Ontario, for use in postsecondary and training institutions offering bridging and other nursing programs for internationally-educated nurses.  To find out more about CELBAN visit www.celban.org.

Project Description

The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) is developing an Institutional Version of the Canadian Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) for use in post-secondary institutions which offer bridging or nursing programs for internationally-educated nurses (IEN). 

The Institutional Version of CELBAN will not result in an official CELBAN report. The Official Version of CELBAN was developed to provide IENs and licensing bodies across Canada with a nationally recognized, nursing-specific assessment of English language proficiency for IENs applying for licensure. However, many IENs pursue licensure through successful completion of nurse training programs offered at postsecondary and training institutions in Ontario.

The new Institutional Version of CELBAN will highlight clinical and workplace language skills, an important component of bridging programs, but which commercially available, standardized tests do not adequately cover. This new Institutional Version of CELBAN is designed specifically to assess entry into and exit from bridging/nursing training programs. Nursing training programs have specifically identified problems with communication in clinical placements, because standardized tests available do not assess language proficiency levels for the types of interaction typical in these settings.

Project objecives:

• Develop, pilot and implement two versions of the Institutional CELBAN and the administration materials to be used by institutions that provide programs for internationally educated nurses 
• Design a tracking mechanism to report on candidate outcomes for ongoing review and updation for the institutional CELBAN

The Canadian Nurses Association writes in their letter of support for this project that “A version of CELBAN for use by educational institutions will address the gap of a nursing specific tool to assist educators to assess internationally educated nurses’ level of fluency on entry to the programs. Importantly, it will also allow these programs to measure if internationally educated nurses preparing to exit their programs possess sufficient English skills to safely transition into the practice setting and provide care to the public.”

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) also explains in their letter of support, that the the CNO “enthusiastically supports your proposal as it would address a gap in the current fluency policy by developing a specific tool for bridging programs.”

The development of an institutional CELBAN will provide:

• a reliable and valid method for institutions to use to measure English language proficiency. The official CELBAN is based on extensive national research, piloting, and statistical analysis of data,
• a wide range of nursing stakeholders provided input into the development of CELBAN,
• the potential for diagnostic feedback on strengths and weaknesses in productive skills (writing and speaking), and
• an ideal basis for the development of a fairer and more transparent process for the assessment of English language proficiency.

Funding provided by the Government of Ontario.