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Language Testing
30(3) 413­–415
Book review © The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0265532212475125
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C. Coombe, P. Davidson, B. O’Sullivan and S. Stoynoff (Eds.)

The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
2012. 321 pp. £40.25 or $45.00 (pbk). ISBN: 97681107677074

Reviewed by: Janna Fox, Carleton University, Canada

Throughout The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment there is reference

to its central aim, namely to increase assessment literacy (Fulcher, 2012; Popham,
2004; Stiggins, 2002) as a fundamental requirement for a language teacher’s ongoing
professional growth and classroom effectiveness (Stoynoff & Coombe, 2012). As
such, The Cambridge Guide answers calls in the literature for language testing
resources which are designed specifically with language teachers in mind, that are
neither too ‘technical’ and ‘specialized’ (Taylor, 2009, p. 23) on the one hand, nor too
superficial or lacking in substance, on the other. Although the editors and contributors
are focused on English language teaching, teachers of languages other than English
would also benefit by reading and reflecting on the topics that are covered in this
edited volume.
Coombe (2012) introduces The Cambridge Guide as a ‘comprehensive overview of
the field of second language assessment,’ which provides teachers of all levels with
up-to-date ‘snapshots of significant issues and trends’ and which emphasizes ‘current
approaches, and practices in the assessment of foreign/second language performance’
(p. 1). The Cambridge Guide is indeed comprehensive, consisting of 35 chapters con-
tributed by many of the leading experts in the field of second language testing and
assessment. The first of the five sections in the volume focuses on key issues (pp.
7–129). It takes up nearly a third of the book with 14 chapters that deal with all of the
following topics:

• the history of second language testing; developments in testing and assessment;

• fundamental testing principles (e.g. validity, reliability, factors that influence test
performance, etc.);
• test development (including test specifications);
• the connection between assessment and instruction; assessment in relation to
standards (i.e. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policies in the USA; the Common
European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Europe); and
• the consequences of test use (e.g. impact, washback, ethics; the need for profes-
sional development for teachers as assessment practitioners).
414 Language Testing 30(3)

Section Two addresses assessment purposes and approaches in nine chapters; Section
Three is devoted to the assessment of specific skills (including reading, writing, listen-
ing, speaking, grammatical ability, and vocabulary). The final two short sections at the
end of The Cambridge Guide address the role of technology in assessment and test
administration issues (i.e. managing assessment in large language classes; marking
assessments, rating scales and rubrics; accommodation in language testing).
The Cambridge Guide will be very useful as a textbook and teaching resource in
courses in language testing and assessment for pre-service and/or in-service language
teachers. Each chapter includes additional suggested resources (some of which are anno-
tated) for those who wish to increase the depth of their understanding of a specific topic,
issue, trend or practice, along with a list of references for work referred to by the author(s)
of the chapter. There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter which range
from those directed at developing a firm understanding of the specific content covered in
each chapter (e.g. ‘Why is it important for a teacher to be assessment literate?’, in
Coombe, Troudi, & Al-Hamly, p. 26), to those that consolidate chapter content and then
extend it to personal assessment experience (e.g. ‘Look at Thompson’s (1995) factors to
consider when preparing listening tests. Then apply them to a listening test you are famil-
iar with’, in Flowerdew & Miller, p. 232).
One omission may be the absence of a glossary of key terms for quick reference and
clarification. It would be advisable to have such a reference close at hand to support
language teachers’ ease of comprehension when The Cambridge Guide is used in courses,
for professional development, or self-study.
There are some limitations in the coverage and emphasis of the volume. Given the
importance of ongoing, interactive formative assessment in language teaching class-
rooms, the skills-based organization of Section Three is somewhat limited. There is little
space devoted to assessment interactions between teachers and students; to the teacher’s
role in discursively supporting and developing learning. Chapter 18 by Shehadeh (pp.
156–163) makes no mention of embedded assessment tasks or dynamic assessment,
which integrate assessment within an instructional activity (see, e.g., Lantolf & Poehner,
2008; Poehner & Ableeva, 2011). Further, the role of feedback in assessment is discussed
only briefly in the volume. For example, in the chapter by Katz (pp. 70–72), which
examines the links between assessment, instructional aims, and learning, concepts like
scaffolding are mentioned in connection with feedback during a performance (see Figure
7.2, p. 70). Katz notes, ‘For feedback to be useful, teachers must also exercise skill in
observing and interpreting the student talk that is elicited so as to provide appropriate
scaffolding, for example, through prompts or paraphrasing or follow-up questions, that
will assist learners in developing their language ability’ (p. 71). This is a most complex
and critical capability and much more space might have been devoted in the volume to
teachers’ formative classroom practices, to the language in language assessment prac-
tice, and the teachers’ complex role in discursive interactions with learners to support
learning (e.g. Leung & Mohan, 2004). In Table 7.1 (p. 71), Katz provides an example of
the relationship between learning objectives, classroom activity, and assessment tools.
This table might also have explored the type of feedback that would be provided by the
teacher, and how it would be structured to support learning, increase positive washback,
and evaluate that washback. More practical application sections with examples, such as
Book review 415

the one in Anderson’s chapter (pp. 187–197) on student involvement in assessment, self-
assessment and peer assessment, would encourage teachers’ development of more reflec-
tive practice in their ongoing support of learning. And, although Brown ably describes
assessment purposes in Chapter 15, classroom assessment (which is surely at the heart of
a teacher’s assessment literacy practice) receives only a few paragraphs (mainly p. 134).
There is little attention paid to diagnostic assessment or its potential in the classroom
(Fox & Hartwick, 2011), and although there is some information on alternative
approaches to assessment such as the use of portfolios (e.g. Chapter 17, Coombe,
Purmensky, & Davidson, pp. 147–155), it is also limited in scope. Therefore, when used
as a resource to increase language teachers’ assessment literacy, this volume may need to
be supplemented by a resource such as Classroom-Based Language Assessment (Tsagari
& Csépes, 2011), which focuses specifically on classroom assessment as ‘interactionally
mediated, as an integrated and iterative process within pedagogical routines’ (Rea-
Dickins, 2011, p. 9).
Fulcher (2012) points out that the emergent empirically-driven definition of assess-
ment literacy ‘integrates knowledge, skills, and principles in a procedural text that
attempts to balance what will be required for both classroom [i.e. assessment for learn-
ing] and normative [i.e. assessment of learning] assessment’ (p. 126). The Cambridge
Guide may have tipped the balance in favour of the normative, but it is nonetheless a
most comprehensive, informative and useful language assessment resource.

References
Fox, J., & Hartwick, P. (2011). Taking a diagnostic turn: Reinventing the portfolio in EAP class-
rooms. In D. Tsagari & I. Csépes (Eds.), Classroom-based language assessment (pp. 47–61).
Frankfurt am Main, DE: Peter Lang.
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quar-
terly, 9, 113–132.
Lantolf, J., & Poehner, M. (2008).Dynamic assessment. In E. Shohamy & N. Hornberger (Eds.),
Encyclopedia of language and education, Vol. 7: Language testing and assessment (2nd ed.,
pp. 273–284). New York: Springer Science + Business Media LLC.
Leung, C., & Mohan, B. (2004). Teacher formative assessment and talk in classroom contexts:
Assessment as discourse and assessment of discourse. Language Testing, 21(3), 335–359.
Poehner, N., & Ableeva, R. (2011). Dynamic assessment and learner engagement in the activity
of development. In D. Tsagari & I. Csépes (Eds.), Classroom-based language assessment (pp.
15–28). Frankfurt am Main, DE: Peter Lang.
Popham, W. J. (2004). All about accountability: Why assessment illiteracy is professional suicide.
Educational Leadership, 62(1), 82–83.
Rea-Dickins, P. (2011). Foreword. Formative assessment: Scoping the horizons. In D. Tsagari &
I. Csépes (Eds.), Classroom-based language assessment (pp. 9–14). Frankfurt am Main, DE:
Peter Lang.
Stiggins, R. J. (2002). Assessment crisis: The absence of assessment for learning. Phi Delta Kap-
pan, 83(10), 758–765.
Taylor, L. (2009). Developing assessment literacy. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 29,
21–26.
Tsagari, D., & Csépes, I. (2011). Classroom-based language assessment. Frankfurt am Main, DE:
Peter Lang.