English language assessment-related articles published in English Teaching during the past 50 years
This paper overviews English language assessment-related articles published in English Teaching from 1965 to 2015. One hundred thirty-eight articles are chosen for analysis, and the discernible trends epitomizing a specific era are traced. The results show articles concerning item analysis and improvement oftesting methods constituted a major portion of the periodical in the early days. The number of the assessmentrelated articles began to soar from the late 1980s, and recently a major focus seems to have shifted to test validity. In terms of research topics, a significant body of research has been conducted on item analysis, improvement of testing practices, performance assessment, evaluation methods, and test validity. Even though the overall level of the articles has advanced dramatically over the past 50 years, little research has been intended in the areas of classroom assessment, English language testing policies, washback effects, new assessment tools, and the validity of national tests. This paper concludes with a suggestion that more efforts should be made to fill the gap between research and testing practices in the field.