The oral interview may be viewed as a criterion-referenced test for making either/or decisions about functional use of spoken language. Speech production can be tested by either the oral interview or the Valdis (1972) "Performance Objectives for Speaking," and dialogue between the two systems can be profitable. Current literature on criterion-referenced testing and performance objectives suggests that the major problem in previous speaking tests lay in not specifying the test's parameters. A book by Vallette and Disick and the Defense Language Institute's Handbook both suggest specifying what the task is designed to show, the nature of the task, how the task shall be tested, conditions under which the test will be taken, and criteria used to determine performance. The U.S. Government regularly conducts language proficiency tests by means of oral interviews. The Civil Service Proficiency Definitions rank ability in five levels from elementary to native or bilingual Proficiency. At the CIA Language Learning Center, additional guidelines for assigning proficiency levels and language grammar grids are also used. Guidelines cover speaking ability in subject matter and quality, as well as understanding. Oral interview tests are conducted to determine if a candidate communicates well enough in the target language to perform his job abroad, and how his performance compares with that of an educated native speaker. (CHK)