语言测试的效度本质观

Perspectives of the Nature of Validity in Language Testing

对效度本质的不同认识,导致了不同的效度理论,产生了不同的效度验证实践。实证主义效度本质观强调相关关系和因果关系,注重确定性和普遍性。自然主义效度本质观强调研究结果和研究的其他部分之间的一致性,注重主体间不断互动的活动和过程。效度理论和效度验证实践研究中存在的争议主要有:效度与信度、效度的整体性与可分性、效度与效度验证等。在探讨实证主义和自然主义研究方法以及应用于语言教学研究的理论和实践时,应该尽力弄清潜在的研究假设,应该意识到确定研究证据的依据的不同。

Different understanding of the nature of validity leads to diverse validity theory and validation practice. The positivistic paradigm focuses on certainty and generalization. The naturalistic paradigm emphasizes the degree to which the evaluator and evaluation audience can agree on, and feel confident about, an interpretation of the evaluation findings. The challenges of validity research are： reliability and validity, the unitary and the divisible, and validity and validation, etc. The key notion is that although it is clear that important differences remain between positivistic and naturalistic perspectives on validity, validity is establishing what counts as evidence. We have seen that the criteria for doing this can differ depending on the research perspective being used.