THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE TESTING ASSOCIATION (ILTA)

1Proceeds from the sale of this collection will support the work of ILTA. The International Language Testing Association (ILTA) is an independent association that was founded in the 1990s by assessment professionals who shared a general concern for fair assessment practices. Today, this concern resonates strongly among its members. A fundamental goal of ILTA has been to develop a Code of Ethics to inform ethical testing. The Code of Ethics, which was adopted in 2000, is neither a statute nor a regulation, and it does not provide guidelines for practice. Rather, it is intended to offer a benchmark of ethical behaviour by all language testers. ILTA further seeks to promote the improvement of language testing internationally through workshops, conferences, publications, and professional services. For more on the goals of ILTA, see p. 153.

UCLES/ILTA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

2The International Language Testing Association, with sponsorship from the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations periodically awards the UCLES/ILTA Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is presented to distinguished contributors to the field of language testing who have demonstrated “extensive and inspirational service to the language testing community, and an outstanding record of scholarship.”

3Past recipients of the award are:

Professor Alan Davies, University of Edinburgh
Professor Lyle Bachman, University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Bernard Spolsky, Bar Ilan University
Dr. John L. D. Clark, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Charles W. Stansfield, Second Language Testing, Inc.

4The introductory chapter of Language Testing Reconsidered, “On Second Thoughts,” is based on Professor Spolsky’s remarks upon receiving the UCLES/ILTA Lifetime Achievement Award at LTRC Ottawa in 2005.