This collection of original articles provides language teachers with a theoretical background of key issues associated with language testing.

Preface - Arthur Hughes; A. Key Issues: 1. A brief history of language testing Barry O'Sullivan; 2. Foreign/second language assessment literacy Christine Coombe, Salah Troudi and Mashael Al-Hamly; 3. Principles of language assessment Hossein Farhady; 4. The assessment development process Barry O'Sullivan; 5. Test Specifications Fred Davidson and Glenn Fulcher; 6. Linking assessment with instructional aims and learning Anne Katz; 7. An overview of language standards for language learners Margo Gottlieb; 8. The common European framework of reference Elif Kantarc¿ölu and Spiros Papageorgiou; 9. Test impact and washback Liying Cheng and Andy Curtis; 10. Test-taking strategies Andrew D. Cohen; 11. What teachers need to know about test analysis James Dean Brown; 12. Ethics in language testing and assessment Annie Brown; 13. Professional development in language assessment Stephen Stoynoff and Christine Coombe; B. Assessment Purposes and Approaches: 14. Choosing the right type of assessment James Dean Brown; 15. Communicative language testing Keith Morrow; 16. Alternative assessment in language education Christine Coombe and Kerry Purmensky; 17. Task-based language assessment Ali Shehadeh; 18. Authentic assessment Peter Davidson; 19. Placement testing Tony Green; 20. Assessing young learners Angela Hasselgreen; 21. ESL assessment in the workplace Ingrid Greenberg; 22. Student involvement in assessment through self and peer assessment Neil J. Anderson; 23. Assessment of second language pragmatics Zohreh R. Eslami and Azizullah Mirzaei; C. Assessing Second Language Skills: 24. Assessing reading Nancy Hubley; 25. Assessing writing Sara Cushing Weigle; 26. Assessing listening John Flowerdew and Lindsay Miller; 27. Assessing speaking Barry O'Sullivan; 28. Assessing grammar Wayne Jones; 29. Assessing vocabulary John Read; D. Technology in Assessment: 30. Computerized language assessment Peter Davidson and Christine Coombe; 31. Web-based language assessment Sunyoung Shin; 32. Software to facilitate language assessment Young-Ju Lee; E. Administrative Issues: 33. Managing assessment in large EFL classes Brock Brady; 34. Marking assessments (rubrics, rating scales) Tony Green and Roger Hawkey; 35. Accommodation in language testing Lynda Taylor; Author/subject index.