SYMPOSIUMThis symposium brings together international scholars to discuss issues arising from current practices in the design and use of language assessments for students designated as English language learners in standards-based contexts. We asked each of the contributors to comment on a particular aspect of language assessment, with a particular focus on validity. The authors use England and the United States as two case studies to demonstrate ways in which this topic is highly relevant to current and future scholarship and policy in TESOL. This symposium article, to which three authors contribute distinct parts, presents the rationale for standards-based language assessment and examines both the uses and misuses of language assessments in English-speaking countries that are engaged in standards-based education reform. Specifically, they focus on the assessment of emergent bilinguals (also referred to as English language learners or English as an additional language students). The first part lays out the intentions and challenges of standards-based language assessment for emergent bilinguals, focusing on validity concerns. The second part describes classroom-based teacher-led assessments of emergent bilinguals in England, which carry high stakes along with the national standardized tests. This contrasts with what is happening in the United States where, as the third part describes, the main focus is on high-stakes standardized testing for purposes of accountability. In