This article considers how the nature of interaction may best be represented in the second language (L2) construct. The starting point is Bachman's model of communicative language ability which, it is argued, incorporates interaction from an individual-focused cognitive perspective. The alternative view advocated here is that individual ability and contextual facets interact in ways that change them both. Thus, 'an ability -in language user -in context' view is to be preferred over Bachman's 'ability -in language user' representation. Acceptance of this new approach entails a local, context-bound view of language ability, which is dif cult to reconcile with the tester's need for score generalizability. The way forward is to recognize that, while some contexts activate stable ability features, others produce more variable performance from learners. Thus, the focus of both theory formulation and empirical research should be on how to account for inconsistent performance in particular contexts from a social interactional perspective.

The purpose of this study is to derive the criteria/dimensions underlying learners' L2 oral ability scores across three tests: an oral interview, a narration and a read-aloud. A stimulus tape of 18 speech samples was presented to three native speaker rater groups for evaluation. The rater groups included teachers of Arabic as a foreign language in the USA, nonteaching Arabs residing in the USA for at least one year and nonteaching Arabs living in their home country (Lebanon). Each of the raters provided a holistic score for every speech sample. Holistic scores were analysed using the INDSCAL multidimensional scaling model. Results showed that the nonmetric three-dimensional solution provided a good fit to the data. Both regression and speech sample analyses were employed to identify those dimensions. Additionally, subject weights indicated that the three rater groups were emphasizing the three dimensions differentially, thus demonstrating that native speaker groups with varied backgrounds perceive the L2 oral construct differently. The study contends that researchers might need to reconsider employing generic component scales. A research approach that derives scales empirically according to the given tests and audiences, and according to the purpose of assessment, is recommended. Finally, replicating this study using other languages, L2 oral ability levels, tests and rater groups is suggested. I Theoretical background L2 oral testing increasingly calls for more performance-based tests. Performance-based tests require students to produce complex responses integrating various skills and knowledge and to apply their target language skills to life-like situations. Such tests typically employ more than one test method and call for human raters' judgement. Consequently, these two factors, the test method and the rater, have become integral components of performance-based tests that influence test scores.

Educational policies such as Race to the Top in the USA affirm a central role for testing systems in government-driven reform efforts. Such reform policies are often referred to as the global education reform movement (GERM). Changes observed with the GERM style of testing demand socially engaged validity theories that include consequential research. The article revisits the Standards and Kane’s interpretive argument (IA) and argues that the role envisioned for consequences remains impoverished. Guided by theory of action, the article presents a validity framework, which targets policy-driven assessments and incorporates a social role for consequences. The framework proposes a coherent system that makes explicit the interconnections among policy ambitions, testing functions, and the levels/sectors that are affected. The article calls for integrating consequences into technical quality documentation, demands a more realistic delineation of stakeholders and their roles, and compels engagement in policy research.

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The article reviews the usefulness of several models of proficiency that have influenced second language testing in the last two decades. The review indicates that several factors contribute to the lack of congruence between models and test construction, and makes a case for distinguishing between theoretical models, which attempt to represent the proficiency construct in various contexts and oper ational assessment frameworks, which depict the construct in particular contexts. Additionally, the article underscores the significance of an empirical, contex tualized and structured approach to the development of assessment frameworks.