Toetsen Van Taalvaardigheid, Onderzoek En Aandachtsgebieden.

Recent developments in the area of testing have led to fundamental theoretical discussions of the nature of language proficiency and the ways in which it can be measured. The conflict supported by statistical theory between advocates of the unitary competence hypothesis and upholders of the divisible competence hypothesis has not yet been resolved unambiguously. However, the discussion has also offered new perspectives in investigating validity. It has become clear that the way language proficiency is viewed determines at the same time the view of validity. The controversy on construct, face and content validity can only be understood in the light of the different concepts of language proficiency. The implications of these various views both for the development and the use of specific tests forms and for validation and normation are briefly dealt with. The choice of direct proficiency tests is explained and the advantages and disadvantages of some frequently used test forms is discussed.