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from this area of research inform the de-sign and development of language tests. The research on test con-tent analysis that has been conducted by the University of Cam-bridge Local Examinations Syndicate, and the incorporation of that research into the design and development of EFL tests is illustrative of this kind of integrated approach (Bachman et al., 1991), The 1980s saw a wealth of research into the characteristics of test takers and how these are related to test performance, generally under the rubric of investigations into potential sources of test bias; I can do little more than list these here. A number of studies have shown differences in test performance across different cultural, linguistic or ethnic groups (e.g., Alderman & Holland, 1981; Chen & Henning, 1985; Politzer & McGroarty, 1985; Swinton & Powers, 1980; Zeidner, 1986), while others have found differential performance between sexes (e.g., Farhady, 1982; Zeidner, 1987). Other studies have found relationships between field dependence and test performance (e.g., Chapelle, 1988; Chapelle & Roberts, 1986; Hansen, 1984; Hansen & Stansfield, 1981; Stansfield & Hansen, 1983). Such studies demonstrate the effects of various test taker characteristics on test performance, and suggest that such characteristics need to be considered in both the design of language tests and in the interpretation of test scores. To date, however, no clear direction has emerged to suggest how such considerations translate into testing practice. Two issues that need to be resolved in this regard are .(a) whether and how we assess the specific characteristics of a given group of test takers, and (b) whether and how we can incorporate such information into the way we design language tests. Do we treat these characteristics as sources of test bias and seek ways to somehow “correct” for this in the way we write and select test items, for example? Or, if many of these characteristics are known to also influence language learning, do we reconsider our definition of language ability? The investigation of test taker characteristics and their effects on language test performance also has implications for research in second language acquisition (SLA), and represents what Bachman (1989) has called an “interface” between SLA and language testing research. METHODOLOGICAL ADVANCES 　　Many of the developments mentioned way we view language ability, the effects taker characteristics—have been facilitated that are available for test analysis. These above—changes in the of test method and test by advances in the tools advances have been in three areas: psychometrics, statistical analysis, and qualitative approaches to the description of test performance. The 1980s saw the application of several modern psychometric tools to language testing: item response theory (IRT), generalizability theory (G theory), criterion-referenced (CR) measurement, and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. As these tools are fairly technical, I will simply refer readers to discussions of them: IRT (Henning, 1987), G theory (Bachman, 1990b; Bolus, Hinofotis, & Bailey, 1982), CR measure-ment (Bachman, 1990b; Hudson & Lynch, 1984), Mantel-Haenszel (Ryan & Bachman, in press). The application of IRT to language tests has brought with it advances in computer-adaptive language testing, which promises to make language tests more efficient and adaptable to individual test takers, and thus potentially more useful in the types of information they pro