The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) is a general English language proficiency test that is valid in Canada. 

To answer this simple question, Paragon Enterprises has developed the CELPIP exam in partnership with various other organisations. Paragon is the only organisation in Canada that provides certified English proficiency examinations for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The university’s English language competency assessments were commercialised by Paragon Testing Enterprises in 2009.

Paragon’s objective is to make its English language proficiency exams the tests of choice for people seeking to immigrate to Canada, become Canadian citizens, or study at all levels in Canada. Paragon performs continuing test research in conjunction with internationally known scholars from Canada’s top universities to achieve this aim. This exam research programme assures the greatest possible quality of exams and allows Paragon to compete with large multinational testing companies. 

Pouring Resources Into the Future

To meet or exceed industry standards in the English proficiency testing arena, Paragon continues to devote significant resources in maintaining and improving the reliability, accuracy, and validity of its CELPIP, CAEL, and LPI Tests. These efforts include not only creating the greatest possible test content, but also improving and monitoring the consistency with which test taker replies are scored.

Developing Digital Services

Unlike its main competitors, Paragon has also spent a significant amount of time and money developing the best possible electronic platforms and procedures for registering test takers, delivering test content, capturing test taker responses, and distributing and receiving these responses from raters for aggregation into final scores.

Developing Research Collaborations

In July 2015, Paragon and UBC’s Faculty of Education and Office of the Provost agreed to contribute $1.8 million over the next five years to strengthen UBC’s position as a global leader in psychometrics research and graduate student training. Because psychometrics is a pillar of Paragon’s business and UBC is a pillar of psychometrics in Canada, this cooperation benefits both UBC and Paragon. Dr. Bruno Zumbo, who was recently appointed to the newly founded “Paragon UBC Professorship in Psychometrics and Measurement,” is leading this endeavour.

Facilities provided by Paragon

On the UBC Vancouver campus, Paragon commenced operations in the Scarfe Building, which houses the Faculty of Education. In 2010, the company relocated to the Donald Rix Building, which houses several of UBC’s start-up enterprises in the Discover Parks area, and in 2013, it expanded its capacity to include offices in the Gerald McGavin Building. In 2014, Paragon relocated its operations from the UBC campus to the Broadway Tech Centre, and in 2015, it extended its facility there. The company’s headquarters currently encompass 12,500 square feet for offices and an on-site testing centre. Paragon opened a satellite office and test centre in Toronto, Ontario, in August 2016, with 4,000 square feet of office space.

In the beginning, Paragon only had two test centres, one in Vancouver and the other in Toronto, where the computerised CELPIP Tests were administered. The paper-based LPI Tests were given out in more than 25 secondary schools in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as at 25 universities and colleges across Canada, including Alberta, Ontario, and Hong Kong.

Since its establishment, the company has swiftly extended its test centres across Canada and abroad, to the point where it now has over 70 locations globally.