Demands of being professional in language testing

Abstract

The need for a strong ethical foundation in the social sciences, which include language testing, is discussed. Such a foundation can be developed through the process of professionalizing. The need for a professional morality in addition to public and individual moralities is proposed and the importance of a professional morality to individual members and to other stakeholders is explained: professions establish contracts with the public and at the same time must protect their mem bers. The intrusive nature of language testing research and the normative role of language tests raise ethical questions regarding professional practice. Critical approaches to language testing expose the importance of carefully examining alter native assessment proposals and of making clear the validity of the assessment methods used by the profession. Given the weakness of sanctions for a social science profession such as language testing, what members are now doing is cre ating an 'ethical milieu' through professional training and professional activities (forming an association, establishing journals and WWW pages, issuing codes of practice, developing qualifications), thereby making explicit the public engage ment of members in a common task. Such explicitness shows both the reach and the limits of the profession's morality.

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