History
The earliest works in language assessment in the US date back to the 1950s to the pioneering studies and test created by Robert Lado and David Harris. The earliest large scale assessment in the US was the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) that was launched in 1961 by Educational Testing Service, ETS, Princeton, New Jersey. This test was designed to assess the English language ability of students applying for admission to US and Canadian colleges and universities. This test, which is used widely around the world, is still in use although it is now only available in the internet-based format (now called the TOEFL iBT).
Many tests from other companies, universities and agencies compete for this market: iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency), the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) Test, the Pearson Language Test's Pearson Test of English (PTE), the University of Michigan's Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) and the University of Cambridge, the British Council and the Australian IDP's International English Language Testing System (IELTS). In the US, non-profit and other organizations such as the Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. and Language Testing International, White Plains, NY have developed language tests that are used by many public and private agencies. Many universities too, like the University of California, Los Angeles, Teachers College, Columbia University, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, have developed English (and other) language tests to assess the abilities of their students and teaching assistants. These language assessments are generally known as proficiency or achievement assessments. Other modern English language tests developed include The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) in Taiwan, the College English Test in China, and the STEP Eiken in Japan. New technology has also made a presence in the field: Versant's English and Dutch assessments use phone technology to record the speaking and automated scoring of their speaking tests, and the ETS is currently experimenting with automated scoring of their writing tests.
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