A Qualitative Study On The Face And Content Validity Of TIE1 Test And Its Washback Effect

The present study aims to investigate the face validity and content validity of This Is English 1 (TEE1) final examination and its washback effect on English learning and teaching. This Is English 1 series were designed for adult students by experts from the Central Radio & TV University and the Open University of UK. All non-English majors are required to participate in the national final examination designed by the Central TVU at the end of the semester. Though being such a large-scale test, few studies have been done on its quality. This thesis aims to analyze the test's quality and its washback effect on English teaching in the light of their face validity, content validity and information obtained from the focus group interview.In order to evaluate the test's content validity, the researcher of this study designed a checklist which made a comparison between the required skills specified in the syllabus and those tested in four TEE1 past papers. And a focus group interview was conducted to obtained information of the test's face validity and washback effect on English learning and teaching.Findings of the research show that TEE1 papers only covered part of the required skills and failed to reflect the students' real language proficiency. Feedback from the interview indicates that TEE1 test has hindered the development of English education and the improvement of the students' overall competence.