Comments On The NMET For Guangdong Candidates In The Context Of New National Curriculum Standards

The reform of the National Matriculation English Test (NMET) is one of the most dynamic ones in all subjects, NMET for Guangdong candidates in particular, which, directed by Bachman's Communicative Approach, and taking his test usefulness as criterion of quality control, has recently developed Test II, a brand new subtest as a means to assess candidates who take English and its related subjects as their majors.The thesis explores and evaluates the reform of NMET for Guangdong candidates in the context of the new National Curriculum Standards within the framework of Bachman's test usefulness. With the comparison of NMET in Shanghai, especially the computer-aided Oral English Test, and also with the introduction of SAT in America, the present research investigates the effectiveness of Test I and Test II of the NMET administered to senior students in Guangdong Province in 2004.By means of qualitative study, the paper examines the two tests in terms of the test usefulness with the intension to improve the NMET in two respects: to promote senior English curriculum reform, and to facilitate the selection of applicants for higher education. After the analysis on effectiveness, we find that there is not much difference between Test I and Test II in assessing students' overall language competence. Test II, despite of its difficulty in construction, has nearly the same characteristics as those of Test I. Therefore, we suggest that Test II should be further developed to meet its original demand — to select the most capable students who apply for English major or other English-related majors.Finally, the recommendations ate provided and conclusions are drawn in order to call for further reform in the future.