The Study On The Validity Of The Cloze Test In Shanghai Matriculation English Test From 2000 To 2009

Middle school English teaching in Shanghai has been undergoing a great reform to meet the challenges Shanghai faces on its way to be one of the international metropolises. However, it is hard to achieve the goal of the reform if there is no corresponding scientific language testing. Like many other kinds of language tests, Shanghai Matriculation English test is to evaluate students' language competence and to select the qualified learners for higher institutions.With the implementation of the New National Curriculum Standards, a lot of changes have occurred in Shanghai Matriculation English test. Nonetheless, cloze test remains an item used in continuity in this Matriculation English test. This phenomenon justifies a research on the validity of the testing item in the test.Based on Bachman's theory about communicative language ability and the objectives of the New National Curriculum Standards, the thesis makes a validity study on the cloze test in Shanghai Matriculation English test.Research results show that the level distribution of the 2000-2009 cloze test in Shanghai Matriculation English test is reasonable. The cloze test measures students' integrative language skills in that its testing points mainly focus on students' ability of language use. What's more, analyzed from the aspects of the testing factors, the cloze test mainly involves evaluating students'ability of understanding collocation and context meaning. Therefore it is reasonable to claim that the cloze tests embody comprehensive testing factors, which require students to choose the correct answers according to the whole text rather than on the basis of their grammar knowledge.Compared with the cloze test of 2007, the cloze test of 2008 has a high validity in measuring both the grammar and reading ability of students. Furthermore, the banked cloze test of 2008 is more related to students'reading ability while the MC-cloze test of 2008 is more related to students'grammar knowledge.On the basis of the study, the author claims that cloze tests in Shanghai Matriculation English test have a positive effect on middle school English teaching. They show the importance of vocabulary teaching through the context and cultivating students' ability of discourse analysis. However, cloze tests in Shanghai Matriculation English test mainly measure students' receptive language skills, rather than productive language skills. Students may choose the correct answers but this does not mean that they can apply the appropriate expressions in both spoken and written English. Therefore, the author suggests that in the process of designing tests, the designers should bear in mind the purpose of tests, the examinees and the scientific testing techniques. Only in this way can we improve the validity of test papers and make cloze tests play an increasingly positive role in English teaching.