Second language performance testing: the Ontario Test of ESL as an example

A recently developed post-admissions testing battery for Ontario colleges and universities is discussed in the light of the multiple issues raised by a performance-based approach to second language testing. In this battery, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are tested through integrated texts and tasks which simulate academic language use. The test components include a general academic section plus a discipline-related thematic section, of which examinees take either the Social Sciences or Science and Technology module. The battery yields placement and diagnostic information about examinee readiness to undertake full time or part time academic studies in English.