THE DEVELOPMENT OF TASK-BASED ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES PROGRAMS

Proposals for task-based approaches to syllabus design (Prabhu 1987; N unan 1989; Long and Crookes 1992) have had little to say about the rol e of testing and evaluation procedures. This paper suggests a role for 'authentic measurement' using performance measures in task-based appr oaches to assessment. In particular, we describe the implementation of a task-based, performance-referenced test of English for academic pur poses, developed for use in placing ESL students into an academic read ing program at a university English language institute. Results of the present study, based on contrastive discriminant analyses of systemic and mixed systemic/procedural placement batteries with an academic re search task performance as the criterion variable, suggest that tradit ional skills-focused rests of EAP ability relate only weakly to learne rs' ability to act on such skills in authentic task conditions. Indire ct performance-referenced tests, when used in combination with system- referenced tests, are much clearer predictors of success in performing academic task simulations. The relationship of performance-referenced testing to issues in placement and academic English course design are discussed in light of the present study.