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Task and Performance-Based Assessment

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Language Testing and Assessment

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

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Abstract

The increasing importance of performance testing in testing and assessment contexts has meant that the behavior of test tasks, how they perform, and how they are assessed has become a considerable focus of research. During the 1990s, performance assessment evolved alongside the multicomponential models of language that were emerging, while, at the same time, detailed frameworks of task characteristics were discussed which provided basis for both test design and test-related research. In second-language acquisition research, tasks have long been an important focus of research although the focus has been different in the testing context where the impact of the properties and characteristics of tasks and how they impact on test scores has been explored, as has the role of raters in the process.

Recently, interests have moved beyond assessing the individual components of language proficiency – speaking, writing, reading, and listening – to include integrated tasks which add a further element of complexity to the assessment process by incorporating more than one skill, for example, reading a passage and completing a writing task based on this. These types of tasks contribute to the increasing authenticity of the assessment for real-life situations but because these types of tasks involve engaging skills and strategies that are not normally included in language testing, further elements of complexity are added. These are currently being addressed through a variety of research studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Languages & Linguistics, University of Melbourne, 3010, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Gillian Wigglesworth

  2. Language Testing Research Centre, School of Languages & Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Babel Building, 3010, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Kellie Frost

Authors
  1. Gillian Wigglesworth
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  2. Kellie Frost
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Correspondence to Gillian Wigglesworth .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tel-Aviv University School of Education, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Elana Shohamy

  2. Tel-Aviv University School of Education, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Iair G. Or

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, School of Critic, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Wigglesworth, G., Frost, K. (2016). Task and Performance-Based Assessment. In: Shohamy, E., Or, I., May, S. (eds) Language Testing and Assessment. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02326-7_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02326-7_8-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02326-7

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