Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) Transition and Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP) Certification Policy Update

1.  PURPOSE.  TO CLARIFY POLICY AND
REITERATE THAT THE DLPT-5 AND ALL WEB-BASED FORMS OF THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST ARE THE OFFICIAL TESTS OF RECORD WHEN RELEASED BY THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE.
2.  BACKGROUND.  THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IS IN A TRANSITION PERIOD FROM PAPER-AND-PENCIL LANGUAGE TESTS TO A WEB-DELIVERED SYSTEM. 
WEB-DELIVERED TESTS CONSIST OF DLPT FORMS I-IV (PRE-GENERATIONAL) AND THE NEW GENERATION DLPT-5.  DESIGNATED LANGUAGES WILL BE TRANSITIONED DIRECTLY TO THE DLPT-5 FORMAT.  ALL OTHERS WILL BE CONVERTED, IN THEIR EXISTING FORMAT, TO A WEB DELIVERED VEHICLE AS AN INTERIM MEASURE. AS DLI DEPLOYS WEB-BASED VERSIONS OF THE DLPT, THOSE TESTS WILL BECOME THE TEST OF RECORD AND ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS WILL BECOME OBSOLETE.
3.  THE FOLLOWING DLPT-5 AND PRE-GENERATION WEB-BASED FORMS OF THE DLPT WILL BECOME THE OFFICIAL TEST OF RECORD ON 1 JAN 2008:
ALBANIAN               CHINESE-MANDARIN          CZECH              
DARI (PERSIAN-AFGHAN)  GREEK                     HINDI           
IRAQI                  KOREAN                    NORWEGIAN    
PASHTO                 POLISH                    RUSSIAN     
SPANISH                URDU
4.   THE FOLLOWING DLPT-5 FORMS ARE SCHEDULED TO BECOME THE OFFICIAL
SCORE OF RECORD ON 1 MAR 2008:
ARABIC-LEVANTINE       KURDISH-SORANI            SERBIAN/CROATION
5.   THE FOLLOWING DLPT-5 FORM IS SCHEDULED TO BECOME THE OFFICIAL
SCORE OF RECORD ON 15 AUG 2008: UKRANIAN
6.   THE FOLLOWING DLPT-5 FORMS ARE SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED (DATE
TBD) DURING FY 2008:
EGYPTIAN                 JAPANESE           MODERN STANDARD ARABIC
PERSIAN-FARSI          
7.   AS RELEASED, ALL PRE-GENERATION WEB-BASED FORMS OF THE DLPT
WILL BECOME THE OFFICIAL SCORE OF RECORD FOR THAT LANGUAGE AND THE MANPOWER PLANS AND POLICY DIVISION (MPP-50) WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT OBSOLETE PAPER-AND-PENCIL VERSIONS FOR ENTRY ON THE UNIT DIARY AS OFFICIAL SCORES OF RECORD.
8.  AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO AID IN THE TRANSITION TO THE DLPT-5, MPP-50 WILL RECERTIFY MARINES' MOST RECENT RECORDED DLPT SCORE IF THEY DO NOT PERFORM AT THE SAME OR HIGHER LEVEL ON THE DLPT-5. 
MARINES WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RECERTIFICATION DURING A ONE-YEAR PERIOD BEGINNING ON THE DAY A DLPT-5 IS DEPLOYED.  THIS IS A ONE-TIME
RECERTIFICATION AND IS EFFECTIVE THE DAY A MARINE TAKES THE DLPT-5.  AT THE END OF THE ONE-YEAR GRACE PERIOD, THE MARINE'S ANNUAL CERTIFICATION FOR FLPP SHALL BE BASED SOLELY ON DLPT-5 SCORES.
9.   AS DLPT-5 AND PRE-GENERATION WEB-BASED LANGUAGE TESTS ARE
DEPLOYED IN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES, THEY WILL BE USED AS THE OFFICIAL TESTS FOR FLPP CERTIFICATION AND DETERMINING BILLET/MOS SELECTION. 
IN INSTANCES WHERE NO DLPT-5 OR PRE-GENERATION WEB-BASED TEST IS PUBLISHED, THE OLD PAPER-AND-PENCIL VERSIONS OF THESE TESTS WILL REMAIN THE TEST OF RECORD.  PRE-DLPT-5 TEST VERSIONS WILL BE AUTHORIZED UNTIL THE CORRESPONDING DLPT-5 TEST IS DEPLOYED. 
DISPOSITION INSTRUCTIONS FOR OLD VERSIONS OF THESE TESTS WILL BE RELEASED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FIELDING INSTRUCTIONS.  THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI) WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE OFFICIAL TEST FOR THE SPEAKING MODALITY. 
10.   MPP-50 WILL CONTINUE TO GRANT TEST SCORE EXTENSIONS BASED ON
THE LAST OFFICIAL SCORE OF RECORD FOR MARINES WHO ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED OR SERVING IN OCONUS BILLETS WHERE TESTING IS NOT
AVAILABLE.   RECERTIFICATION WILL BE REQUIRED NO LATER THAN 60-DAYS
FROM THE DATE OF THE END OF THE DEPLOYMENT OR ONCE THAT MARINE FINISHES THE OCONUS ASSIGNMENT.  FOR EXTENSION WAIVERS, PLEASE CONTACT MPP-50 VIA THE ORGANIZATIONAL MAILBOX AT MPP50TESTING@USMC.MIL.  IN ALL CASES,
NON-AVAILABILITY OF WEB-BASED LANGUAGE TESTING WILL BE CERTIFIED BY MPP-50.
11.  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON AVAILABILITY OF DLPT-5 TESTS AND OTHER DLPT QUESTIONS, CONTACT MAJ DAN HUDSON AT MRA/MPP-50, DSN
278-9368 (DANIEL.P.HUDSON@USMC.MIL) OR ACCESS THE TESTING SECTION OF THE MPP WEBSITE LOCATED UNDER THE MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS HOMEPAGE AT HTTPS:WWW.MANPOWER.USMC.MIL.  FOR FLPP RELATED QUESTIONS, CONTACT HQMC/IOP, CAPT RUSSELL HARRIS, DSN 224-3938(RUSSELL.D.HARRIS@USMC.MIL) OR MSGT TAWNIA CONVERSE (TAWNIA.CONVERSE@USMC.MIL).
12.  RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY MR. M.F. APPLEGATE, DIRECTOR MANPOWER PLANS AND POLICY DIVISION, M&RA.