A good test is one that has at least three qualities: reliability, or the precision with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure; validity, i.e., if the test really measures what it is supposed to measure; and practicality, or if the test, no matter how sound theoretically, is practicable in reality. These are the sine qua non for…

The purpose of this paper is to review the theoretical and empirical literature relevant to language performance assessment. Following a definition of performance assessment, this paper considers: (1) theoretical assumptions underlying performance assessment; (2) purposes of performance assessment; (3) performance assessment procedures; (4) merits…