Development and validation of the Texas Oral Proficiency Test (TOPT) is described. The TOPT, a simulated oral proficiency interview, was developed in French and Spanish as a test of speech skills to be used by the state as part of its certification testing program for French, Spanish, and bilingual education teachers. An introductory chapter…

One aspect of the development of a performance assessment is addressed--the field testing of the tasks. In a performance-based assessment, the tasks must allow each examinee a fair and equal opportunity to give the best possible demonstration of his or her ability, and must elicit a performance sample that enables scorers to evaluate each examinee…