If needed, the IALC staff train graduate program staff or faculty members to administer and score the ITA exam within their college or unit.
About the evaluations
Washington State Senate Bill 5475 requires any non-native English speaking international graduate student who will be appointed as a Teaching Assistant (TA) to meet a minimum spoken English language proficiency requirement. Briefly, prospective international applicants must meet any of the following options as evidence of English language proficiency:
- Hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution.
- Hold citizenship or a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an institution in any of the following countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Overseas Territories, British Virgin Islands, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Montserrat, Nigeria, New Zealand, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, or the United Kingdom.
- Graduated with a baccalaureate-level or higher degree from a college or university outside the United States where the language of instruction was English (provide an official letter or transcript from the school stating English was the language of instruction).
Applicants not meeting any of the above options must demonstrate spoken English proficiency as detailed on the Application Requirements for International Students. For such students, individual graduate degree programs may require higher English Language proficiency scores as detailed on their fact sheets. Students who do not meet either the Graduate School or graduate program score thresholds may be required to pass an ITA exam before being appointed as a TA.
If you are unsure about whether your international graduate teaching assistants need to take the exam, please refer to both Graduate School policy (please click on English proficiency requirements) as well as the decision tree created about whether or not an exam is needed.
Reporting scores
Departments are responsible for reporting exam scores only for those students who are required to take the ITA exam. If a student meets the criteria to not be required to take the exam, no reporting is required.
Learn more about reporting ITA exam scores.
IALC
The Intensive American Language Center (IALC) offers an eight-week course designed to help students improve their ITA scores. This course is offered for an additional fee based on the IALC’s tuition and fee structure, which helps support the self-sustaining Intensive English Program. To be offered, the course requires a minimum of 10 students. In addition, the Language Learning Resource Center provides free resources to students who wish to further enhance their language skills.