In this invited Viewpoint on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the journal "Language Testing," I argue that at the core of future challenges and opportunities for the field--both in scholarly and operational respects--remain basic questions and principles in language testing and assessment. Despite the high levels of sophistication…

The continuous testing framework, where both successful and unsuccessful examinees have to demonstrate continued proficiency at frequent prespecified intervals, is a framework that is used in noncognitive assessment and is gaining in popularity in cognitive assessment. Despite the rigorous advantages of this framework, this paper demonstrates that…

Refutation texts, rhetorical tools designed to reduce misconceptions, have garnered attention across four decades and many studies. Yet, the ability of a refutation text to change a learner's mind on a topic needs to be qualified and modulated. In this critical review, we bring attention to sources of constraints often overlooked by refutation…

It has been argued in the literature on (language) testing that any act of testing/assessment can impact: (1) educators' curriculum design; (2) teachers' teaching practices; and (3) students' learning behaviors. This quality of any given testing situation or act of assessment has been called washback, or backwash if you will. Washback falls into…

This article evaluates the current state of play in terms of policy development in response to the testing crisis.

The paper reports on trends in language testing taking place over the years and aim at critical perspectives of testing and promoting inclusion, equity and justice. It begins with critical theories by Messick, Foucault and Bourdieu, leading to critical language testing (CLT) which focused on consequences and uses of tests. Given the power of tests…

Human rights education (HRE) emphasises the significance of children learning about, through and for human rights through their lived experiences. Such experiential learning, however, is often limited to instances of enjoyment of rights and disregards experiences of injustice, exclusion or discrimination. By neglecting the 'negative' experiences,…

Correspondence testing to research discrimination in the marketplace has become common and the use of internet applications has allowed researchers to send greater numbers of applications. While questions of research ethics always arise when planning a correspondence test, the issue receives relatively little attention in published correspondence…

Celpe-Bras, is the exam for the certification of proficiency in Portuguese as a foreign language. It, is the only Portuguese proficiency test recognized by the Brazilian government (Ministério da Educação, 2013). Given the recent growth of interest and also its unique design as a large-scale proficiency test, this article provides a general…

It is nearly impossible today to discuss education without considering testing and evaluation. In the opening article of this volume, professors Baird, Andrich, Hopfenbeck, and Stobart (2017) lay out the challenge of putting learning and teaching first, tracing the development of the science of educational assessment and raising the question…

Educators have long lamented the tendency of students to engage in rote memorization in preparation for tests rather than engaging in deep learning where they attempt to gain meaning from their studies. Rote memorization driven by objective exams has been termed a steering effect. Progress testing (PT), in which a comprehensive examination…

Van Gog and Sweller (2015) claim that there is no testing effect--no benefit of practicing retrieval--for complex materials. We show that this claim is incorrect on several grounds. First, Van Gog and Sweller's idea of "element interactivity" is not defined in a quantitative, measurable way. As a consequence, the idea is applied…

This article critiques the current arrangements for the assessment and testing of English in early-years settings and primary schools in England. It is broadly supportive of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. It is highly critical of the Year 1 phonics check, and of the tests of reading and of grammar, punctuation and spelling at the end of…

Over the past ten years, the analytic formation of the school to prison pipeline has come to dominate the lexicon and general common sense with respect to the relationship between schools and prisons in the United States. The concept and theorization that undergirds its meaning and function do not address the root causes that are central to…

This book explores the influence of high stakes standardised testing within the context of South Korea. South Korea is regarded as a shining example of success in educational achievement and, as this book reveals, pressurised standardised testing has been a major contributing factor to its success. This unique country provides an excellent setting…