Oral examinations: An historical note

A report written by J.O. Roach in 1945 for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate appears to have been one of the first discussions in print of the problems of reliability and validity in the testing of oral proficiency in a second language. It describes a number of experiments in improving consistency in examiner's rating by joint examining and by the use of recorded samples, considers the problems of establishing valid standards in subjective testing, and proposes the development of what is now the standard form of listening comprehension test.