Experimenting with uncertainty (paper)

Brings together 28 invited papers by key figures in the field of language testing surveying the state of the art in language testing. Issues covered range from test construct def inition to the design and applications of language tests, including their importance as a means of exploring larger

Section 1 - The contribution of Alan Davies, 1. Alan Davies and British Applied Linguistics, 2. 10 years of the Language Testing Research Centre, Section 2 - Construct Definition in Language Testing, 3. Communicative Language Testing: the Art of the Possible, 4. Fossilisation or Evolution: the case of grammar testing, 5. The assessment of metalinguistic knowledge, Section 3 - Language Testing for Specific Purposes and Populations, 6. LSP: Three problems in testing language for specific purposes: authenticity, specificity and inseparability, 7. Assessing language skills for specific purposes: describing the behaviour domain, 8. The assessment of language impairment across language backgrounds, 9. A process for translating achievement tests, Section 4 - Judgement in Language Testing, 10. Revising raters and ratings in oral language assessment, 11. Establishing meaningful language test scores for selection and placement, Section 5 - The Uses and Usefulness of Language Tests, 12. Designing and developing useful language tests, 13. Language assessment and professional development, 14. The formative and summative uses of language test data: present concerns and future directions, Section 6 - Language Test Impact, 15. The need for impact studies of L2 performance testing and rating: identifying areas of potential consequences at all levels of the testing cycle, 16. Impact and washback research in language testing, Section 7 - Language Testing in its Policy Context, 17. Prescribe language standards and foreign language classroom practice: relationships and consequences, 18. Rendering ESL accountable: educational and bureaucratic technologies in the Australian context, 19. Social and ethical concerns in English testing for migrants to New Zealand, 20. Testimony from testees: the case against current language policies in sub-Saharan Africa, Section 8 - The Ethics of Language Testing, 21. Cheating language tests can be dangerous, 22. Ethics, fairness(es) and developments in language testing, 23. The ethical potential of alternative language assessment, Section 9 - Language Testing and SLA, 24. Quantitative evaluation of vocabulary - how it can be done and what it is good for, 25. Some thoughts on testing grammar: an SLA perspective, 26. Measuring development and ultimate attainment in non-native grammars, Section 10 - Beyond Language Testing, 27. Fossilization: moving the concept into empirical longitudinal study, 28. The unbearable lightness of being a native speaker, The Publications of Alan Davies.