ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered the online placement test an indispensable tool for a language programme. Given the unfeasibility of in-person interactions, it became imperative to design an interactive assessment system that could accurately calibrate the levels of students' language skills and offer a conduit of communication between the programme and the students. This chapter reports how, during the pandemic, the Japanese Language Programme at Michigan State University designed and implemented an online placement test system using Qualtrics (a survey platform) and Zoom (a videoconferencing software). More specifically, this chapter delineates the multiple steps through which the programme assessed the alignment between individual students' readiness and the levels of Japanese courses via an online test and virtual oral interviews. The chapter also includes reflections on the further development and implementation of the online placement test in the post-pandemic era. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Karim Sadeghi;individual chapters, the contributors.