The ethics of gatekeeping tests: What have we learned in a hundred years?

Tests have always been used as a means of political and social control. Critics have emphasized their unfairness and what Edgeworth called their 'unavoidable uncertainty'. Test results are unreliable, especially at the extremes, and their pre dictive power is weak. Language testers above all need to be sceptical; they should insist that the most complete information about candidates be made available for selection decision-making.