Performance Assessment in Language Testing

In the past two decades, there has been a major shift in language testing towards the development and use of performance tests. The basis for this shift is the expectation that such tests would assess a more valid construct of what it really means to know a language. The purpose of this chapter is to review th topic of performance testing by focusing on its definitions, theory, development, and research. The chapter will begin with a review of the different definitions of performance testing and provide examples of the types of performance tests that have been developed and used. The chapter will then examine the extent to which performance tests have drawn upon the theoretical discussions of competence and performance. The next section will describe the research that has been carried out on performance tests. The chapter will end with an agenda for development and research on the manyu unanswered questions concerning performance testing.