Construction Of And Reflections On College English Achievement Testing

Language testing plays an integral part in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching and learning, and both teaching and testing are closely interrelated and interdependent. The scientific testing is an important means for checking, adjusting and improving EFL teaching and learning. Nowadays, language teaching for non-English majors in China focuses more on the two nationwide, large-scale standardized tests, namely CET4 and CET6 (College English Test Band 4/6), and views the results of these two tests as the terminal assessment of students'language ability. However, it is doubtful whether the quality of the college-wide achievement tests, purpose of using such tests and the backwash effect they have on language teaching and learning have fully been recognized. It is believed that the scientific construction of achievement tests and reasonable score interpretation and paper analysis have a significant impact on the improvement of the EFL teaching and learning for non-English majors in China. Therefore, when it comes to the undesirable effect of the EFL teaching for non-English majors, one major cause is probably that the achievement testing has not fully played its due role as a"baton".The thesis attempts to investigate problems existing in the current achievement testing for non-English majors and reasons for the problems are to be explored. The method used in the research is a combination of quantitative and qualitative studies in which test evaluation is dominant and descriptive study, that is, questionnaire and interview survey, serves as an important supplement. The following are procedures of the author's conducting the research:In the first place, one sample of an achievement test of Band 4 is analyzed in the light of the National College English Teaching Syllabus (NCETS) and relevant language testing theories. A comparison is also made between the sample and the CET4 test administered on June 26, 2004 in the hope of evaluating the validity, reliability and other qualities of the achievement test. Meanwhile, the backwash effect of the test on school's teaching and learning is closely examined.