Samuel J. Messick Memorial Lecture Award

To identify a presenter to deliver a major address at the joint annual meeting of the International Language Testing Association (ILTA) and the Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC). The presentation will be of great potential relevance to the improvement of foreign or second language testing practices.

This award is given in honor of the late Samuel J. Messick, a distinguished research scientist at ETS.

• $2,000 (U.S. dollars)
• Round-trip economy airfare, hotel accommodations for three nights at the ILTA/LTRC joint annual conference and other expenses

9 months before the conference — Recipient is notified of award and that he or she has to deliver a presentation address at the ILTA/LTRC conference.

A three-member selection committee identifies and selects award recipients and confirms the general topical area for the presentation. The members are:

• the LTRC organizer or co-organizer of the meeting at which the address will be given
• the ILTA president or designated representative
• a member of the TOEFL^® Grants and Awards Committee

Individuals who wish to nominate potential recipients may forward their suggestions to the committee at the address listed below. The nominator should describe how the nominee's background, expertise and prospective area of presentation relate to the evaluation criteria.

Criteria for selection include:

• a presenter and an associated topic that provides impetus and direction for significant innovations in foreign or second language test design, use or interpretation
• emphasis is given to important conceptual or operational insights that may be provided through the examination of major testing issues on a cross-disciplinary basis

We encourage submitting the application form (PDF) via email.