With the coronavirus pandemic that began in early 2020, there has come a heightened need for remote, “at-home” assessment of L2 ability. Yet for the use of online L2 test methods to succeed in terms of validity (Messick, 1989; Kane, 2006; Chapelle, 2012), it is necessary to review and modify theoretical constructs undergirding emergent assessments. Aiming to offer workable test-development guidelines during a pandemic that has challenged the well-being of L2 learners and TESOL professionals worldwide, this paper will analyze a number of models and frameworks of L2 ability (e.g., Canale and Swain, 1980; Bachman and Palmer, 1996; Celce-Murcia, Dornyei, and Thurrell, 1995; Hall et al., 2011; Pekarek Doehler, 2018), offering critical appraisals of their usefulness vis-à-vis both validation principles and practical constraints of online assessment. Analyses will be complemented by a qualitative examination of interactive data from an online version of a test of L2 oral pragmatics undergoing development.