Four methods used in trial examinations in oral English for the Certificate of Secondary Education in England are described, and the assessment system and rating scales are discussed. The four methods are: 1. Reading Aloud, 2. Prepared Talk, 3. Private Conversation about a Visual Stimlus, and 4. Group Discussion. The aim of all the tests is to discover whether the candidate is able to speak his ideas easily and naturally with due regard to accepted language usage and to the company addressed. Teachers were asked to make assessments three times between May and July, using a five-point rating scale, from A to E. The possibility of using tape recorders in the assessment system was investigated. The results of the experiment show: (1) Method 2--Prepared Talk--correlated most highly with the teachers' assessments and may be designated the most successful; Method 3 is also considered excellent; (2) It is possible to assess tape recorded interviews accurately; (3) The low correlation between marks for written and oral examinations suggests that the 16-year-old shows a difference in his capability for handling written and spoken English; and (4) Most teachers have difficulty in assessing oral ability. Three appendixes discuss Other Research, Oral Expression--Notes for Test Administrators, and Footnotes and Bibliography. (For related documents, see ED 049 096, 961, and 962.) (DB)