DOI 10.1111/ijal.12204 REVISITING EFL ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES R. Mahrooqi | C. Coombe | F. Al‐Maamari | V. Thakur ❘ SpringerLink (Online service). Cham: Springer International Publishing. 2017. 358 pp. ISBN: 978‐3‐319‐32601‐6 (e‐book) $89.00 Revisiting EFL Assessment is one in a five‐part series on learning and teaching second and foreign languages through a critical perspective. The organization of chapters into eighteen separate studies invites readers who seek an overview of current developments the field of language assessment. While some chapters are stronger than others, the scope of the book is expansive and provides a refurbished view of assessment to complement twenty‐first century trends in language education. Some of the main themes that echo throughout the book are: that the purpose of assessment is, first and fore- most, to improve learning rather than to signify achievement (a); assessment culture has undergone a shift from prod- uct‐ to process‐focused (b); most EFL teachers are not assessment literate, and therefore professional development is key (c); and alternative assessment is essential in any language program (d). Due to its ultimate focus on authenticity, this book would be most appealing to those in L2 education concerned with naturalistic language teaching or learning, and those committed to developing teachers’ assessment literacy. The main strength of the book is that it presents a broad overview of research on common topics in L2 assess- ment, such as washback, assessment literacy, reliability and validity, and alternative assessment. Each study is oriented through the lens of EFL, and though most of its 19 chapters are set within a Middle Eastern context, the content is often applicable to a wider range of L2 learners and teachers. Al‐Mahrooqi's introduction in Chapter 1 eloquently ties this content together. The first section of the book, Assessment Literacy, promotes language teacher development. In Chapter 2, Djoub reports a dearth of effective assessment training among 45 international EFL teacher respondents, and in Chapter 3, Ismael laments the lack of assessment literacy in Kurdish EFL tertiary instruction before transitioning to a discussion on ethics and alternative assessment literacy. Section 2, Theoretical Perspectives on Assessment, discusses washback, along with alternative, problem‐based, and outcomes‐based assessment. Despite the comprehensive nature of Wei's review in Chapter 4, the descriptions are somewhat murky and the content is very dense, omitting reflection, interpretation, and summarization to highlight general trends at the end of each section. In contrast, Staub's contribution in Chapter 5 commands the reader's atten- tion from beginning to end with insightful, prosaic commentary on the best and worst practices in outcomes assess- ment implementation and advocacy of the distributed leadership (DL) model for outcomes‐based EFL institutions. Unlike most literature, which probes outcomes assessment movements at the macro level, Straub's analysis addresses its virtues and pitfalls at the program level. This chapter is a definite highlight of the book. Chapters 6 and 7 look closely at the relationship between assessment and experiential learning. In Chapter 6, Khan and Bontha apply an action‐based research framework to assessment practices at the University of Dhofar in Oman. In Chapter 7, Caspary and Boothe graft problem‐based learning (PBL) methodology to EFL assessment; how- ever, they tend to tell the reader what to do without really delving into how it is done. They also mention “unique assessment strategies” in Chapter 7 section 14 (p. 115) but then provide a list of commonplace alternative assessment 192 BOOK REVIEWS