This article reviews recent literature (2011-present) on the automated scoring (AS) of writing and speaking. Its purpose is to first survey the current research on automated scoring of language, then highlight how automated scoring impacts the present and future of assessment, teaching, and learning. The article begins by outlining the general…

Test-takers' interpretations of validity as related to test constructs and test use have been widely debated in large-scale language assessment. This study contributes further evidence to this debate by examining 59 test-takers' perspectives in writing large-scale English language tests. Participants wrote about their test-taking experiences in…

The testing and examination history in China can be traced back to the imperial period nearly two thousand years ago. The existence of English language testing (tests), on the other hand, has a much shorter history. These English tests, developed and administered over the past 20 years, however, are taken by billions of learners of the English…

Washback or backwash, also known as measurement-driven instruction, is a common term in applied linguistics referring to the influence of testing on teaching and learning, which is a prevailing phenomena in education. It is a truism that "what is assessed becomes what is valued, which becomes what is taught." This paper aims to share the…