Until very recently, assessment in the Arabian Gulf focused primarily on high stakes testing. However, with the increased popularity of multiple-measure assessment, institutions in the region are adopting alternative forms of assessment. This paper provides a rationale for alternative assessment in the English-as-a-Foreign/Second-Language (EFL/ESL) setting. More specifically, a literature review of assessment research is provided and an evaluation of assessment reform at two government tertiary institutions is described. Alternative assessments generally meet the following criteria: focus is on documenting student growth over time rather than on comparing students with one another; emphasis is on students' strengths--what they know and what they can do with the language--rather than on their weaknesses; consideration is given to learning styles, language proficiencies, cultural and educational backgrounds, and grade levels of students; authenticity is prized because it is based on activities that represent actual progress toward instructional goals and reflect tasks typical of classrooms and real-life settings. Specific sections address the emergence of alternative assessment, traditional versus alternative assessment, assessment in the Arabian Gulf, and alternative assessment in the United Arab Emirates. It is concluded that alternative assessment is a superior learning and teaching tool, and that its growing use in the Arabian Gulf region is a positive development. (Contains 2 figures and 11 references.) (KFT)