Principles of Assessment

Assessment has profited from the advances that have taken place in statistical analysis over the last century and it is now considered important for assessors to check their tests empirically as well as rationally. In addition, the upsurge in interest in the results of tests and examinations by governments, parents and candidates has led to a multi-million pound testing industry and contemporaneously there is a huge increase in the numbers of scholars researching different aspects of testing and assessment.

Although trends in testing, as in other fields, change over time, some principles of assessment are permanent and are not overly affected by current fashions. They need to be held in mind by assessors whenever they construct a test, whether this be a class quiz, a class essay or an end-of-year examination. (Here the terms 'test' and 'assessment' are used interchangeably.) The most important of these principles fall under three heads: validity, reliability and washback. Whilst the following discussion focuses specifically upon language assessment, the principles of testing apply more generally.