Assessment in English for Academic Purposes: Putting content validity in its place

Testing and assessment in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) contexts has traditionally been carried out on the basis of a needs analysis of learners or a content analysis of courses. This is not surprising, given the domina nce of needs analysis models in EAP, and a focus in test design that values adequacy of sampling as a major criterion in assessing the validity of an assessment procedure. This article will reassess this approach to the devel opment and validation of EAP tests on the basis of the theoretical model of Messick (1989) and recent research into content specificity, arguing that using content validity as a major criterion in test design and evaluation h as been mistaken.