| Computer adaptive test is more scientific and human-oriented compared withtraditional paper and pencil test. So in future English tests, it is not a matter ofwhether to use computer adaptive test or not, but a matter of how to use it. Up to now,large-scale computer adaptive language tests have not loomed on the horizon in China.The purpose of the study was to explore the application of computer adaptivelanguage test by validating a computer adaptive reading test.The test under investigation was different from the other computer adaptive tests(CAT) in the following aspects:1) the test used commercial software Questionmark asthe platform;2) the item bank contained items from published books;3) the readingitems were in the format of short-context reading. These characteristics are associatedwith the purpose of the test, which was designed mainly for low-stake and small-scaletest by colleges and other educational institutions for the purpose of identifying testtakers’ English competency with relatively short time. The test was designed to havetwo stages. The first stage intended to find out the test taker’ proficiency level. Thesecond stage of the test was designed to assign each test taker a group of items thatsuited well with their proficiency level which was identified in the first stage. In thiscase, the test would yield accurate information about test takers’ abilities with fewitems. The computer adaptive reading test contained300items in the item bank. Thenumber of items test takers took for each test ranged from20to28, for thetermination criterion of the test was an integration of fixed number of items and aspecified measurement precision. The maximum time allowed for the test was35minutes.Based on the theories of reading comprehension and test evaluation, six researchquestions were proposed:Research Question1: Is the item difficulty from published materials reliable?Research Question2: Is the participants’ test anxiety influenced by the computeradaptive reading test? Research Question3: What is the relationship between participants’ perception of thecomputer adaptive reading test and their attitudes and experiences with computer?Research Question4: Can the computer adaptive reading test measure the expectedreading skill?Research Question5: What is the correlation of the computer adaptive reading testwith other test?Research Question6: How reliable is the computer adaptive reading test?Test anxiety was measured with Spielberger et al.’s (1980) Test AnxietyInventory (TAI). A researcher developed questionnaire was used to collect dataconcerning participants’ experiences with computer and attitude toward computers.Thinking aloud verbal protocol was used to identify the skills employed by theparticipants in the reading process.The study was administered at2011-2012fall term at China AgriculturalUniversity. The placement test took place in September, the computer adaptivereading test fell in November and a retest of computer adaptive reading test wascarried out in December. The total number of subjects was212, which were from sixclasses. The six classes were in three different levels according to their scores in theplacement test. Each level included two classes, with students in level1having thelowest score in the placement test upon entering the university, and students in level3having the highest score in the same placement test.Data were analyzed with SPSS13.0, using ANOVA, T-test, Pearson’s correlation,and descriptive statistics. Taking all the empirical evidences and reasoning together, itwas concluded that the computer adaptive test was satisfactory as a part of low-stakeplacement test, for using items from published books and the method of determiningitem difficulty were proved to be practical and reliable and the test was evaluated tohave sound construct validity and reliability. It was found that the test increased testtakers’ anxiety. It was also found that the test takers’ perception of computer adaptivereading test was positively related with their attitudes towards computers, which wereinfluenced by the time spent with computers.The dissertation comprises six chapters in all. Following the first Introduction chapter, Chapter2is literature review, outlining the theoretical basis for the currentresearch. Chapter3is about the design of the computer adaptive reading test. Thedesign of the test is elaborated with the aspects as follows: the size of the item bank,the entry level, the stopping rule, the design map, the scoring rule and the interface.Chapter4discusses the methodology, which is described in terms of the researchdesign, participants, the instrumentation, data collection and analysis procedures. Theresults are presented and discussed in Chapter5. Finally, Chapter6is discussions andthe conclusion. It also depicts two implications of the present study: the first is for testdesigners, who, intending to design computer adaptive language test, could considerthe use of available commercial software and paper version of items in case oflow-stake and small-scale tests. The second is addressed to language teachers, whoshould encourage the use of computer and make students more familiar with basiccomputer operation in order to make students have more positive perception towardcomputer adaptive test and reduce their anxiety in the test.Considering the limitations of the present study, it is expected that theappropriateness of such an adaptive reading test for subjects whose Englishproficiency was lower or higher than college students would be evaluated. |
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