Past imperfect, future conditional: Fifty years of test theory

This essay takes a broad view of developments in test theory over the past 50 years from the point of view of a test constructor. Increasing theoretical and technical sophistication has not, in general, resulted in commensurate improvements in test design. Contemporary test theory, with its emphasis on statistical rather than psychological models, has become inaccessible to the majority of test users, and predominantly reflects educational rather than psychological concerns. Real progress may depend on the emergence of a new and radical reconceptualization.