Three projects - set the scene for choices underlying the present research
The Norris-Brown Research
Generate tasks across EAP domains
Assess the difficulty level
An initial task difficulty level matrix
Limited
Only moderate support for the proposed relationships between the combinations of cognitive factors with particular task types
Not address directly the appropriateness of using the task performance rating approaches in other educational settings
Reasonable
Provide an organised framework for the assessment of task difficulty.
The Cambridge Work
Characteristics
Internationally -available public examinations
At a number of distinct levels
High stakes
Focus on the speaking test only
Draw on a great deal of task research
Complexification involves a move
Provide many occasions where ability for use needs to be brought into play
A strong communicative dimension
Considerable and principled prominence for the use of tasks
The Belgian Group
Dealing with achievement testing within a school system, and in a number of different, specific contexts
Two vital points emerge from the development of these tests
The importance of collaborative effort
It was not teachers in particular educational contexts who were able to produce the tests but teachers working in collaboration with tertiary education specialists.
Bring considerable sophistication to bear in what they did
Aware of the threats to reliability in performance testing, and made strong efforts to counter sources of error in the test results that they obtained
Aware of validity-linked developments in the field, and so drew upon the task-based literature in the way they tried to deal with task difficulty
