Developments in Language Testing

Abstract

In many ways, the year 1990 represented a watershed in language testing. In that year, the 12th annual Language Testing Research Colloquium took as its theme “A new decade of language testing research: Collaboration and cooperation.” The 1990 Colloquium was also dedicated to the memory of Michael Canale, whose work during the previous decade laid the groundwork for much of that of the 1990s. In 1990, a seminar sponsored by the Regional Language Centre in Singapore, on Language Testing and Programme Evaluation, focused on many of the problems in the field of language testing that militated against the hoped for progress of the 1980s. At both of these meetings, and at others involving language testing that year, discussions were held concerning the formation of an international professional association of language testers. The result was the formation of the International Language Testing Association in 1992. Also in 1990, a language testing computer “bulletin board,” LTEST-L, was established on Listserv, so that the international community of language testing researchers and practitioners could hold electronic “conferences” and share information and data on a world-wide basis. Finally, a number of important books on language testing were published in 1990, including works by Bachman, Davies, Heaton, and Weir, which have already had an influence on language testing research and development in the first half of the decade.

Research Trends and Development Patterns in Language Testing Over the Past Three Decades: A Bibliometric Study

“…The years from 1990 to 1992 exhibited the smallest number of publications, and the publication rate has been increasing since 1992. The year 1990 was considered to be a watershed moment in the development of language testing ( Douglas, 1995 ) because in that year, several major events in the field of language testing occurred. For instance, the 12th International Language Testing Seminar was held in San Francisco, United States, and a seminar on Language Testing and Project Evaluation was held in Singapore.…”

Reflect, Revisit, Reimagine: Language Assessment inARAL

“…In the 1990s, the multiple dimensions of language assessment evident today began to bloom. Douglas’ (1995) “Developments in Language Testing” described the feeling that language testing had come of age with a coherent professional community that shared discussion and debate about a theory, methods, data analysis, and even professional standards. ARAL welcomed articles that helped to shape the discussion in language assessment while inviting others in applied linguistics to join in.…”

Language testing and assessment (Part I)

“…In the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics series, equally, the only substantial reference to washback is by McNamara (1998) in a chapter entitled: 'Policy and social considerations in language assessment'. Even the chapter entitled 'Developments in language testing' by Douglas (1995) makes no reference to washback. Given the importance assigned to consequential validity and issues of consequences in the general assessment literature, especially since the popularisation of the Messickian view of an allencompassing construct validity (see Part Two), this is remarkable, and shows how much the field has changed in the last six or seven years.…”