Chapter 28 Assessing Students' Grammatical Ability

affect the cognitive processing you would want to occur to answer the tasks you set" 
(p. 62). 
Using a multiple-choice question as an example once again, although the test takers 
may actively attempt to identify the correct answers from the three or four choices available 
to them, this fonnnt may also allow lest takers to answer the question through the process 
of guessing or eliminating unacceptable distractors. 
LITERATURE REVIEW 
The most comprehensive version of a multi
-
componential view of 
language ability 
for testing purposes is Bachman and Palmer's ( 1996) framework. Their explanation of 
grammatical knowledge 
has been criticized for being limited inasmuch as it focuses far 
more on grammatical form than on meaning. However, their multi•componential view of 
/angllage ability 
does account for this aspect to a certain extent as 
functional knowledge 
and 
so
ci
oli11g11isri
c 
knowledge 
incorporate the actual use of language in communicative 
contexts. 
One of the issues raised earlier by such models and frameworks was whether or not 
a communicative approach to grammar necessitates the explicit assessment of 
grammati­
cal ability. 
Weir (1990) specifically deals with language testing from a communicative 
standpoint. 
As regards 
construct definition, 
Butstone ( 1995) provides a detailed description of muny 
aspects of the construct of grammar but deals with it more from a teaching perspective. 
For assessment purposes, Purpura's (2004) insightful discussions focus solely on assessing