This article will be of interest to those interested in the construct "communicative competence" (CC), its historical roots and its path in FL instruction for about the past 30 years as well as its impact on assessment of language learning outcomes. The author traces how CC dramatically changed the pedagogical emphasis in FL instruction and demonstrates how this emphasis led to the ACTFL Guidelines and Standards project as well as their resulting tests and assessments.#Research #All5Cs #JournalArticle #Curriculum #All #PolicyorAdministrative #Standards #All #Assessment #Research #Substantialmention #Outcomes #Proficiency #TheoriesandMethods