This second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Language Testing provides an updated and comprehensive account of the area of language testing and assessment. It represents an invaluable resource for students, researchers and practitioners working in the field of language testing and assessment.

List of tablesList of figuresList of contributorsAcknowledgementsEditorialSection 1: Validity Chapter 1: Conceptions of validity. Chapter 2: Articulating a validity argument. Chapter 3: Inference and prediction in language testing. Section 2: The Uses of Language Testing Chapter 4: Social dimensions of language testing. Chapter 5: Designing language tests for specific purposes. Chapter 6: Revisiting language assessment for immigration and citizenship. Section 3: Classroom Assessment and Washback Chapter 7: Classroom based assessment. Chapter 8: Washback: looking backwards and forwards. Chapter 9: Assessing young learners. Chapter 10: Dynamic assessment. Chapter 11: Diagnostic assessment in language classrooms. Section 4: Assessing the Language Skills Chapter 12: Assessing speaking. Chapter 13: Assessing listening. Chapter 14: Assessing writing. Chapter 15: Assessing reading. Section 5: Test Design and Administration Chapter 16: Test specifications. Chapter 17: Evidence-centred design in language testing. Chapter 18: Accommodations and universal design. Chapter 19: Rater and interlocutor training. Section 6: Writing Items and Tasks Chapter 20: Item writing and item writers. Chapter 21: Writing integrated tasks. Chapter 22: Test-taking strategies and task design. Section 7: Prototyping and Field Tests Chapter 23: Prototyping new item types. Chapter 24: Pre-operational testing. Chapter 25: Piloting vocabulary tests. Section 8: Measurement Theory in Language Testing Chapter 26: Classical test theory. Chapter 27: Item Response Theory and Many-Facet Rasch Measurement. Chapter 28: Reliability and dependability. Chapter 29: Scoring performance tests. Section 9: Technology in Language Testing Chapter 30: Validity and the automated scoring of performance tests. Chapter 31: Computer-based testing. Chapter 32: Corpus linguistics and language testing. Section 10: Ethics, Fairness and Policy Chapter 33: Ethics and fairness.Chapter 34: Standards in language proficiency measurement. Chapter 35: Quality management in test production and administration. Epilogue Chapter 36: Language testing: where are we heading? Index

'The first edition of this volume received the highest possible kudos of any book in the field of language testing through receipt of the SAGE/International Language Testing book prize. This set a high and seemingly unattainable bar for the second edition. Remarkably, the current collection has paralleled and possibly even surpassed the excellence of the earlier edition. By compiling the latest thinking of a varied and high-caliber roster of contributors and serving as a crucial benchmark for tracking developments, the collective wisdom in this volume will, no doubt, continue to shape the future of the field. This book is an indispensable resource for new and seasoned language testing researchers and practitioners alike. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, I would highly recommend it for libraries at all institutions offering training in applied linguistics or related subjects.'Talia Isaacs, University College London, UK'Editors Fulcher and Harding have invited leading researchers across the globe to identify critical issues in the field of language testing and assessment and to make predictions about its future. 36 chapters, covering philosophical, social and technical aspects of the discipline, offer thought-provoking reading for anyone engaging with language tests, whether as researcher, practitioner or policy-maker.'Catherine Elder, University of Melbourne, AustraliaPraise for the 1st edition:'This thorough and comprehensive introduction to the practical and theoretical dimensions of language testing and assessment is set to become a standard reference. With chapters by leading international authorities in the field, it is both intellectually stimulating and practically useful, and is a must-read for those involved in language testing as test developers, test users, policy makers and researchers.'Tim McNamara, The University of Melbourne, Australia'I found this book to be the finest collection of cogent articles on language testing to date. The Handbook solidifies language testing as a discipline in its own right-one that has real-world impacts on society at large. Stimulating and clear, the articles will be a valuable resource for decades to come.'Paula Winke, Michigan State University, USA"In the collection of articles edited by Fulcher and Davidson, the editors have succeeded in assembling a set of contributors with an unparalleled level of expertise in their respective areas, and with distinctive talents in communication. The strength of this extremely well-edited collection lies in the interweaving of theoretical and practical aspects of language testing through nine broad themes, and in the structuring of individual contributions to provide a historical perspective, a discussion of current issues and contributions, and a consideration of future directions. The volume stands not only to have a wide impact on best practice in the field, but also in the development of language assessment literacy in other professionals who find themselves involved in activities of language assessment."2016 SAGE/ILTA Book Award statement