Uncovering fraud in the administration of any test is reason enough to undermine confidence in the results. That certainly holds true for the disturbing news regarding TOEFL and TOEIC. But there is a larger issue that is given short shrift.

It has to do with the predictive value of these two high-stakes tests. Their designers maintain that they measure the knowledge and skills necessary for success in situations where English is spoken. But their emphasis is less on speaking than on writing English.

It's hard to believe that students who excel only on translating passages from Japanese into English — or vice versa — possess the wherewithal to master subject matter taught in schools in the United States. That's because lessons there depend far more on oral participation from students than in Japan.