PERFORMANCE TESTING COGNITION AND ASSESSMENT

Studies in Language Testing 3 Performance Testing, Cognition and Assessment. Selected papers from the 15th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Cambridge and Arnhem, August 1993 This volume contains a selection of research papers that were presented at the 15th Annual Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC). The 1993 Colloquium was jointly hosted by two major testing organisations - the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) in Cambridge, and CITO in Arnhem, in the Netherlands. At the Cambridge venue, the papers were presented on the themes of performance testing, while at Arnhem they covered aspects of communication in relation to cognition and assessment. A selection of 16 papers was made in order to achieve a balanced coverage of these themes for publication purposes. Key features of this edited collection include:

• contributions reporting research hato the testing of speaking and writing, especially in relation to raters, tasks and assessment criteria

• contributions exploring the application of various statistical methods in language test validation

• contributions addressing the issues relating to language testing in specific contexts and with particular candidate groups.

This volume will be of relevance to language testing specialists concerned with the design, development, delivery and validation of performance tests, as well as to academic researchers and graduare students interested in the complex relationship between cognition and assessment.