ABSTRACT
The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), first administered in 2000, is a level-based criterion-referenced EFL testing system tailored to learners of English in Taiwan. The GEPT has received extensive recognition of its quality both domestically and internationally and is now the most widely taken English proficiency examination in Taiwan. This chapter places special focus on the sociocultural contexts of the development and use of the GEPT level framework, as well as on a systematic approach to collecting empirical evidence on test validation based on Weir’s (2005) socio-cognitive validation framework. Selected validation activities are presented to exemplify the sustained effort to establish and maintain the reliability and validity of the GEPT. The impact of the GEPT is reviewed to examine how it has been used to bring about changes in the teaching and learning of English in its social context. The chapter concludes with a discussion of challenges that lie ahead for the GEPT and future directions for the research and implementation of the test.
