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It is increasingly recognised that attention should be paid to investigating the needs of a new test, especially in contexts where specific purpose language needs might be identified. This article describes the stages involved in establishing the need for a new assessment of English for professional purposes in China. We first investigated stakeholders' perceptions of the target language use activities and the necessity of the proposed assessment. We then analysed five existing tests and six language frameworks to evaluate their suitability for the need of the proposed assessment. The resulting proposal is for an advanced-level English assessment capable of providing a diagnostic evaluation of the proficiency of potential employees in areas of relevance to multinationals operating in China. The study has demonstrated the value of following a principled procedure to investigate the necessity for and the needs of a new test at the very beginning of the test development.

Progress assessment aims to assess students' performance and progress during a course of study. Its purpose is primarily developmental--to help students improve learning. Progress assessment is of special value in distance education in that it can motivate or pace distance learners throughout their course of study. It can help the tutor monitor the learning process of distance learners, diagnose their problems and provide prompt help and support. However, few empirical studies have been reported in the literature that address the issue of progress assessment from the perspective of Chinese distance learners. This paper investigates the perceptions of Chinese distance learners with regard to the necessity of progress assessment and the way it is being implemented in practice. (Contains 1 table.)

The article explores the teacher-based assessment of oral English and the systematic principles needed to create large-scale alternative assessment form in Hong Kong, China. It cites that English school-based assessment (SBA) was implemented by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, which aims to bring goals on the assessment for learning at level of schools and classroom. It notes that the elements in the creation of assessment of learning approaches provides a role for teacher as assessor of the student's learning and evaluate if a student has met the standards of the subject. It mentions that the key principles of a test tool are reliability, validity, practicality and consequences.