second language task based performance theory research assessment

Task and Performance-Based Assessment

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• First Online: 16 May 2017
• Cite this reference work entry

• Gillian Wigglesworth 5 &
• Kellie Frost 6  

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

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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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Research Unit for Indigenous Language, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

Gillian Wigglesworth

Language Testing Research Centre, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Babel Building, 3010, Parkville, VIC, Australia

Kellie Frost

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Correspondence to Gillian Wigglesworth .

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School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Elana Shohamy

Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Stephen May

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Wigglesworth, G., Frost, K. (2017). 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/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_8

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_8

Published : 16 May 2017

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