The six
studies reflect a range of situated language assessment contexts and address diverse research questions.
In all cases, the studies offer valuable reviews and summaries of the recent literature in their area of
investigation and they demonstrate a variety of methodological approaches - all of which should be of
interest and relevance to the wider research community. The methodological challenges and practical
constraints encountered by the researchers, and the ways in which they resolved these, are particularly
enlightening. The discussion and results from each study help to broaden and enhance our understanding
of the IELTS test and each report highlights avenues for further investigation and exploration.