Registration

🔔 Important Changes for 2025:

1. Student Self-Registration:
   • Teachers/ Schools will no longer register students.
   • Examinees must register themselves.
2. Shortened Registration Period:
   • Registration starts later and ends sooner.
3. Strict Deadlines:
   • No registrations will be accepted outside the dates.

🔗 Review the details here to stay informed and prepared.

As of Summer 2022, American Councils will not be offering remote proctoring. All exams must be administered with a proctor present to monitor examinees during the exam. The role of the proctor is assigned by the high school who does not have any knowledge of the target language being tested. This individual will verify students’ IDs, allow access to the exam, and make sure that exam guidelines and instructions are followed.

NEWL is administered to high school students on school premises e.g., in a computer lab or a classroom. If your high school is unable to facilitate the examination, you must locate a neighboring high school or institution to fulfill this administrative responsibility.

The exam site must provide 2-3 admin personnel:

Registrant:

• Register your school as a testing site during the open registration window
• Register admin personnel (Tech Support and a Proctor)
• Pay for examinees only if you are paying in one PO for all of your examinees

Proctor:

• Setup the examination room
• Admit examinees
• Read the exam administration script on the day of the exam
• Communicate with American Councils any technical support through chat 

Technical point of contact:

• Assist with basic computer preparation
• Troubleshooting technical issues
• Setup a dedicated, private, and secure testing space for at least 4.5 hours on the day of the exam

Within each school, there are two possible modes of NEWL assessment—classroom-based and computer lab-based. American Councils recommends administering NEWL exams in a traditional computer lab. However, if no lab is available in your school, it is possible to administer the exam in a secure classroom, on student laptops or Chromebooks. Registrants will receive detailed instructions about NEWL administration based upon which type of mode is employed. See the table below for key differences:

All testing sites must be secured and registered before the registration deadline date. American Councils will review all applications to ensure exam requirements are met. Failure to adhere to these guidelines and deadlines may result in disqualification.

Any independent examinee whose school is not able to administer the NEWL exam in a secure and proctored environment may seek out a neighboring school that is offering NEWL or look for commercial testing centers in their area. We recommend that examinees contact their school’s AP Coordinator to inquire about conducting an exam administration.

Language on NEWL Exams

Appropriate conduct and language are expected of all examinees participating in NEWL. Any use of inappropriate language on any section of the exam will invalidate the entire exam and no score report will be issued. Inappropriate language includes offensive language or topics in either the speaking or writing section of the exam.

Refund Policy

If the examinee pays for a school-based main exam but does not take it, a refund can be requested. Please note that there will be a $15 unused exam fee. To receive a refund for the exam, the examinee must submit a Refund Request Form to American Councils no later than May 10, 2025. No portion of the fee is refundable if the examinee has taken any sections of the exam.

Posting About NEWL on School Websites

In cases where information about NEWL is shared, e.g. on the school website, proper credit and direct links to both American Councils and the NEWL websites must be referenced. Note that it would violate copyright law to copy the information and make it available on any other website without written authorization from American Councils.

Contact Info

Huma M. Shamsi

hmshamsi@americancouncils.org