Language Testing Reconsidered

"Language Testing Reconsidered" provides a critical update on major issues that have engaged the field of language testing since its inception. Anyone who is working in, studying or teaching language testing should have a copy of this book. The information, discussions, and reflections offered within the volume address major developments within the field over the past decades, enlivened by current "takes" on these issues. The real value of this collection, however, lies in its consideration of the past as a means of defining the future agenda of language testing.

Janna Fox is an Associate Professor and Director of the Language Assessment and Testing Research Unit within the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Carleton University. She teaches courses in assessment, curriculum, and research methods. Her research interests are language test development and validation, and the interplay between assessment, curricula, and language policy. Mari Wesche is a recently retired Professor and former Director of the Second Language Institute and is still active in the Education Graduate Studies program of the University of Ottawa. Her main teaching areas have been second language acquisition, assessment, and content-based second language instruction, with research emphases in second language vocabulary acquisition and assessment, language aptitude, performance-based testing, and immersion instruction. Doreen Bayliss is the former head of Testing and Research Support Services at the Second Language Institute, University of Ottawa. Throughout her career, she has focused on test development and validation. Since her retirement, she has continued to engage in testing projects around the world. Liying Cheng is an Associate Professor and a Director of the Assessment and Evaluation Group (AEG) at the Faculty of Education, Queen's University. Her primary research interests are the impact of large-scale testing of instruction, and the relationship between assessment and instruction in EFL/ESL classrooms. Carolyn E. Turner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her main focus and commitment are language assessment and testing in educational settings and more recently in health care contexts concerning access for linguistic minorities. She pursues these through her research, teaching, and service. Christine Does is a doctoral candidate studying language assessment in educational contexts in the Faculty of Education, Queen's University. Her specific research interests relate to the use of diagnostic assessment to support learning.