美国标准化考试反思——兼议中国大学英语四、六级考试

Reflecting on American Standardized Tests——Comments on the CET Band 4 and Band 6 in China

发轫于美国的标准化考试在世界范围内被大规模采用,但是,可以说标准化考试是在人们的批评声中走到今天的。为什么人们在如此强烈批评它的同时仍然一如既往地使用它?到底应该如何评价标准化考试?在分析美国标准化考试的现状、问题之后,从教育和文化的视角对标准化考试进行了审视,认为标准化考试有其存在的合理性,但在试题的设计、考试成绩的使用以及在教育评价指标中所在的权重应作到科学、客观。

The standardized tests which originated from the U.S.A have been widely used on a large scale across the world, yet the criticism on them has never stopped. Why do people still use them while criticizing them? How should we comment on the standardized tests? After analyzing the current situations and problems about standardized tests in the United States, special reflection is conducted on them from the perspectives of education and culture. The author holds the idea that standardized tests still have the reasons to exist, but the design of the questions, the use of the test results and the weight they account for in educational assessment should be scientific and objective as well.