Analysis of English Testing Based on Reliability Theory in Language Testing-Taking the English Midterm Test for the First Grade of a Middle School in Hangzhou as an Example

Based on the reliability theory in language testing,this study analyzes the midterm English test of a first grade class in Hangzhou using SPSS software.We will analyze the overall structure and reliability of the test paper,and use cloze as a representative of objective questions to calculate their difficulty and discrimination,in order to explore the quality of the questions and the mastery of the knowledge learned by students.The purpose of this analysis and research is to improve the quality of exam questions and help teachers get useful information from exam results,thereby improving teaching quality.

Entangled relationship:Chinese parents’involvement in young learners’English tests

Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.

Evaluation on washback effects of College English Test Band 4

The paper is an evaluative research on the possible washback effects of College English Test. By comparing and analyzing the differences between the old and new tests, it points out three major changes and their possible washback effects on the process of English language teaching and learning： abandon the part of Grammar ＆ Vocabulary, increase the proportion of listening test and change the test reporting form.

A Study of Washback Effect on Nautical English for Second Mate and Third Mate

The impacts of testing on teaching and learning are called backwash effect which can be divided into positive effect and negative one.Nautical English test aims to assess students' English competence by means of the Examination of Seafarers for Competency Certificate.This is an important nationwide testing and is bound to exert effects on nautical English teaching and learning.This study investigates nautical English teachers and examinees through questionnaire and interview to have a general understanding of how they evaluate it,as well as what effects the testing have on teaching and learning.

Study on the Factors Affecting the Ability of Higher Vocational College Students in Practical English Test

Practical English test for higher vocational colleges is examining students learning effect, curriculum arrangement and teaching model rationality, and it is one of the important propositions in the study of English application ability. In practical English test, concreteness, pertinence and practicability are emphasized. It is closely linked with the students＇ knowledge practice and attracts more attention from school teachers and students to a large extent. In the real interactive teaching and learning, the scores of higher vocational college students in practical English test are affected by many factors. In this paper, the factors affecting the ability of higher vocational college students in practical English test are discussed from teaching model, learning strategies, and the cultivation of the students＇ English comprehensive ability.

The Problems and the Reform of College English Test in China

Beginning with the analysis of the problems that the College English Test （CET） in China has brought about in recent years, this paper aims to introduce its recent reform both in the test contents and the management system, administered by Ministry of Education of China.

Viewing English Teaching and Test Method from a Brand-new Perspective

There has been close relationship between English test method and teaching method. When we make great efforts to reform the English teaching method we should improve the English test method. In this way, we can increase the test efficiency, trustiness, English teaching quality and evaluation function, to transform the teaching from examination-oriented education into quality education.

College English Test: Reliability, Validity and Washback Effect

The intent of this paper is to evaluate College English Test(CET)’s reliability,validity and washback effect in the con⁃text of language assessment by applying Brown’s framework of test usefulness.The result of literature review and discussion shows that CET’s student-related reliability and rater reliability for writing section are unfavorable while its test administration reliability and rater reliability for CETSET has been increasing;CET’s content and construct validity are getting improved but its criterionrelated validity has been violated due to students’inappropriate learning attitude;CET’s negative washback has been caused due to the overemphasis on passing rate,but previous surveys shows positive washback in teaching and learning as students’reading and oral communication abilities have been improved.In the end,three suggestions for CET’s development are summed up:empha⁃sis less on test result;inform students with the significance of CET’s reform;the relationship among testing,teaching and learning should be built into a mutual promotion format.

Validity Study on the Test Paper of the Academic English Reading and Writing Course

The aim of this study is to conduct the validity analysis of the test paper of the academic English reading and writing course referring to the freshmen of non-English majors in a university of Technology in Shanghai.The validity is mainly analyzed from these three aspects:the content and construct validity,the reaction process,and the internal structure of the test paper.And the principles of language assessment in the design of the test paper are given in this study.The validity study was also conducted in a class with 42 freshmen,and the scores of them were analyzed through the internal correlation coefficient from Statistic Package for Social Science(SPSS)25.0.Finally,the validity of the test paper is concluded.

English Intelligence Test

ANow,imagine(设想)there is a large live duckinside a very large bottle.

On the Causes of Negative Impact of CET-4

As one of the world well-known high-stakes tests, CET-4 （College English Test Band 4） changed from being generally accepted to being widely questioned in the past 25 years. In spite of a series of reforms of CET-4, the negative impact of CET-4 remains intense. Three main reasons are probed into here. Firstly, the objective of CET-4 is ambiguous. Secondly, the test objective does not accord with teaching objective. Finally, test contents do not match well with the practical language use. To improve the present passive state of CET-4, some suggestions are given.

A Study and Evaluation of CET-SET for Chinese College Students

Having been implemented since the year 1987, College English Test(CET) is now a national English test used to measure college students' English language competence and promote English language teaching and learning in classrooms. And later in 1999 national CTE committee launched College English Test-Spoken English Test(CET-SET) and started to include speaking as one part but not a compulsory part of this assessment. Now still only a small group of candidates can take CET- SET,which suggested by many researchers could bring harmful backwash to classroom teaching. Therefore, this paper presents a study and evaluation of CET-SET for college students in China. It mainly divides into four parts. Part one gives an introduction about the teaching contexts of college students and their needs for English study. Part two discusses the harmful backwash from CET as well as the reasons and needs to introduce and recommend CET-SET. The third part sheds light on the strengths of CETSET including its beneficial backwash, the test format and the scoring system. The last part talks about its weakness and provide some suggestions and modifications.

大学英语测试的信度与效度分析(英文)

The analysis of test paper is greatly significant to the improvement of testing and English teaching. This paper evaluates a College English archievement test by examining its reliability and validity,both of which are of primary concern in testing. And item analysis is also conducted to find out the problems of the test itself. Based on the evaluation,the paper is to call for teachers'attention of enhancing the quality of archievement test.

POWERFUL TESTS,POWERLESS TEST DESIGNERS?——CHALLENGES FACING THE COLLEGE ENGLISH TEST

随着语言测试界对考试效度概念的逐步延伸和拓展,对考试后效研究的不断深入,语言测试工作者越来越深刻地体会到:大规模考试所承载的社会风险越高,考试设计者在考试使用问题上就越没有发言权。大学英语四、六级考试二十多年的发展历程印证了考试设计者所面临的这一困惑。本文在总结四、六级考试发展和改革的基础上,探讨考试设计者应如何应对高风险考试误用所带来的考试负面后效,以及所有考试相关责任人所应承担的社会责任。

TEST ANALYSIS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS' CAPABILITY IN ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

While Colleague English Tests (CET) have promoted the college English teaching, they have also led to the extension of test-oriented education and hindered students' capability in communication. To examine the validity of CET Band Four, resumed tests were carried out in sampled students of Grade 2001 one year after they took CET-4 in December, 2002. The control class was examined with the original paper of CET-4 2002, while the treatment class was tested with the same paper in which the multiple-choice questions were all changed into the subjective ones. The test scores were processed by statistical analysis. The results showed that although there was no significant difference between the two classes in CET-4 scores, there was significant difference between them in their experimental test scores. The scores of the treatment class were significantly lower than that of the control class, which proves that CET cannot objectively reflect students' capability in communication, and thus its validity is low. To eliminate the negative backwash effect of CET, suggestions are put forward that CET be devised as a criterion-referenced test, frequency of the test be reduced, subjective questions be increased, and commercialization of the test be avoided.

Research on Improving Rating Reliability for School-based Oral English Achievement Tests:The Design and Development of a Computer-aided Rating System

Low rating reliability has long been the primary concern in school-based oral English achievement tests. In this study, a computer-aided rating system （CARS） was developed to improve inter- and intra-rater reliability through the instantiation of rating criteria, task division and random distribution, on-line training, reliability verification and sound wave ＂reading＂ and ＂writing.＂ A rating experiment was conducted among six raters to compare intra- and inter-rater reliability between traditional rating and rating with CARS. At the end of each round of rating, a conference was held. Both quantitative an~ qualitative analyses show that CARS can significantly improve inter- and intra-rater reliability, mainly through helping raters use criteria more accurately and focus more attention on rating. In addition, the research has also shed light upon further study on improving rating reliability.