In this invited Viewpoint on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the journal "Language Testing," I argue that at the core of future challenges and opportunities for the field--both in scholarly and operational respects--remain basic questions and principles in language testing and assessment. Despite the high levels of sophistication…

In order to inform English foreign language (EFL) diagnostic assessment of literacy, this study examined the extent to which 175 first-language Hebrew-speaking EFL young learners from fifth to tenth grade exhibited differences in single-letter grapheme recognition, sub-word, and word reading, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) of letters and…

In online environments, listening involves being able to pause or replay the recording as needed. Previous research indicates that control over the listening input could improve the measurement accuracy of listening assessment. Self-pacing also supports the second language (L2) comprehension processes of test-takers with specific learning…

The 33rd Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), held in June 2011 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, included a conference symposium on the topic of "assessment literacy." This event brought together a group of four presenters from different parts of the world, each of whom reported on their recent research in this area. Presentations were…

Language assessment literacy refers to language instructors' familiarity with testing definitions and the application of this knowledge to classroom practices in general and specifically to issues related to assessing language. While it is widely agreed that classroom teachers need to assess student progress, many teachers and other test…

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for researching classroom-based assessment (CBA) processes, and is based on a detailed empirical study of two Australian school classrooms where students aged 11 to 13 were studying Indonesian as a foreign language. The framework can be considered innovative in several respects. It goes beyond the…

The increasing influence of sociocultural theories of learning on assessment practices in second language education necessitates an expansion of the knowledge base that teacher-assessors need to develop (what teachers need to know) and related changes in the processes of language teacher education (how they learn and develop it). Teacher assessors…

This study identifies a unique context for exploring lay understandings of language testing and, by extension, for characterizing the nature of language assessment literacy among non-practitioners, stemming from data in an inquiry into the registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors by the Australian House of Representatives…

Discusses steps taken to attain cultural relevance and appropriateness in the reading literacy construct, and in the stimulus materials and items that operationalize it. Explains the influence of multilingual considerations on the development of the reading literacy assessment instrument and notes psychometric procedures used to maximize the…

Presents principles behind the construction of English-as-Second-Language (ESL) standards for schools, drawing on examples of ESL standards developed in Australia, England, Wales, and the United States. Examines how differences in purposes in these standards--planning, professional understanding, and reporting--influence how ESL standards might…