Despite complaints from undergraduate students concerning language and pedagogical skills of international teaching assistants (ITAs), institutions of higher education continue to appoint ITAs to teach. Legislative mandates have appeared to assess and improve language and pedagogical skills of ITAs, and the academies have likewise responded with workshops and seminars. Program models for ITA development differ in length and intensity but are usually of three types: orientation, pre-term, or concurrent. Assessment instruments used for screening ITAs include commercially produced tests, oral interviews, communicative performance tests, and teaching simulations. While research is being conducted on ITA communication effectiveness, more research is needed in the following areas: (1) classroom characteristics; (2) methods and materials facilitating ITA training and assessment; (3) personal and professional results of training on ITAs; (4) effective intercultural orientation; (5) appropriate assessment and training for international faculty members; and (6) how institutions define and identify ITAs and the impact of ITA training and assessment on institutional goals for internationalization and multiculturalism. University administrators can support these training and assessment efforts by developing clearly defined and fair policies involving ITA training and assessment and enforcing them, providing stable and adequate program funding, and supporting scholarships focusing on the issues raised by ITA assessment and training. Contains approximately 300 references and an index. (GLR)