The primary task of the monograph is to describe and evaluate the conceptualizations of communication found in assessment practices. The first chapter contains a review and analysis of standardized measures and performance assessments of teachers' communication. Twelve communication categories emerge from an inspection of the performance assessments. The numerous meanings given to communication are elaborated by an examination of differences within each category. The second chapter focuses on theory and research. The literature on instructional communication is examined, and a model is developed with five critical skill areas. It is shown how these areas are used for five functions, or purposes, and in different modes or patterns of communicating. The final three chapters discuss limitations in current measures of communication. The perspective of the communication theorist and linguist is used to identify important dimensions of communication that have received little, if any, attention in the assessments. The claim that most performance assessments are grounded in research on teaching effectiveness is explored, and relationships between the assessments and the research are cited. Limitations of that research paradigm are identified and implications for communication from an information-processing model are discussed. (JD)