By being creative in preparing tests and by allowing creativity on the part of students, language teachers can incorporate many of the principles associated with proficiency-oriented instruction into a traditional test format. Such test strategies are based on the following: (1) testing in context is better than testing with a series of unrelated discrete items; (2) students prefer familiar contexts; (3) vocabulary assessment without lists of words to be translated is preferable; and (4) students respond well to visual stimuli. Teachers can make use of both visual and linguistic creativity in testing. Pictures can be used to test vocabulary through labeling, drawing and labeling, drawing and describing, drawing what is described, and responding to pictures with comparison, creation of dialogue, ordering of scenes, and extrapolation from a situation. Linguistic creativity can be tapped through student narratives and sentence completion exercises. For this approach to be successful, the teacher must give explicit directions and assure students that artistic ability is not graded. The approach is suitable when only a written test is desired, and is suitable for large classes. Visual stimuli are particularly appropriate for more elementary skills levels. A brief bibliography is included. (MSE)