This technical report focuses on the decision-making potential provided by second language performance assessments. The authors first situate performance assessment within a broader discussion of alternatives in language assessment and in educational assessment in general. Then they discuss issues in performance assessment design, implementation, reliability and validity. Finally, they present a prototype framework for second language performance assessment, based on the integration of theoretical underpinnings and research findings from the task-based language teaching literature, the...

This volume reports on innovative, useful evaluation work conducted within U.S. college foreign language programs. Each case is reported by program-internal educators, who walk readers through critical steps, from identifying evaluation uses, users, and questions, to designing methods, interpreting findings, and taking actions.