The Modern Language Association was founded in the last decades of a century marked by a fervent optimism in the forward movement of science and technology. Over the course of time, the association proved itself a worthy enfant du siècle. The first two decades of the twentieth century were years of investigations, debates and committee reports devoted to methods, outcomes, standards, articulation and testing. The work was accomplished by three distinguished national committees: the Committee of Ten, the Committee of Twelve and the Committee on College Entrance Requirements. As a concrete outcome, the College Entrance Examination Board was created and institutionalized. The genesis of these committees and their influence on language instruction are documented in this chapter.