Celpe-Bras exam. Proficiency interview. Oral proficiency assessment. Assessment behavior. Reliability.
The aim of this thesis is to analyze testers’ behavior in the Portuguese Language Proficiency Exam for Foreigners (Celpe-Bras) and how that behavior can affect the reliability of the test, taking into account that this is one of the most important qualities of any language test. For that purpose, the 2016 first edition data of the Celpe-Bras exam were used for quantitative analyses, with statistical basis. These analyses were based on Bachman’s works on reliability and on the theoretical considerations of each statistical technique and hypothesis test used. The results point to the existence of a considerable variability in the testers’ behavior.