This paper questions the purpose of testing in second language instruction. Comments are based on an examination of tests used by the Defense Language Institute for students of English as a second language. Two kinds of tests are used: the English Comprehension Level (ECL), used primarily as a basis for setting exit requirements, and "Book Quizzes," based on the training materials used in three levels of classes. The reliability and validity of these tests is discussed at length. The issue of whether and how ECL influences the kinds of testing and teaching that take place in the classroom is examined, and specific test items are presented and analyzed. The use of distractors on a test is questioned: it is felt that, for the students who know the answer, distractors serve no purpose, and that the use of distractors in general corresponds to no other aspect of the curriculum. It is also felt that ECL should correlate with normal English usage tasks, and that the focus of tests, students, instructors, and the entire curriculum should be on the relationship of utterances in the target language to realistic contexts of discourse. (CLK)