Many decisions go into selecting and advocating for a test.  You’ll need to consider the broad ideas of practicality, the feasibility of giving a particular test; reliability, the consistency of test results; validity, the fit between the test and the who, what, why, and how of testing; and impact, the possible positive or negative consequences of using the test.

In order to get a clear idea of how practical, reliable, valid or consequential a test might be for you, you will want to think about the following:

• your students’ backgrounds
• administering and scoring the test
• the resources you have
• your purposes for testing
• the characteristics of your students and your program
• how the test will fit with the other assessment tools you use
• how you will interpret and use the test scores
• what effects you expect the test would have on you, the students and others

As you can see, selecting the right test can be a challenging task.  The reward, however, is an assessment program that can positively affect students both inside and outside of the language classroom!