A Comparative Study On The Reading Tests Of TOEFL And NETEM (1)

Based on a revised framework for analyzing reading test, this study conducts a comparative study on the reading tests of TOEFL and NETEM (1) in several aspects by employing the method of content analysis. The study tries to address the following three questions:1) What are the similarities and differences between TOEFL reading test and NETEM (1) reading test in the aspect of input? 2) What are the similarities and differences between TOEFL reading test and NETEM (1) reading test in the aspect of expected response? 3) Which test is a better EAP reading test in terms of test content, TOEFL reading test or NETEM (1) reading test? To answer these questions, 5 TOEFL reading papers and 5 NETEM (1) reading papers are chosen for content analysis. The major findings are as follows:(1) In terms of linguistic features, TOEFL and NETEM (1) reading texts show little difference in the aspects of vocabulary, syntax and readability; TOEFL reading texts are longer than NETEM (1) reading texts, and the speed requirement of TOEFL reading test is higher than that of NETEM (1) reading test; TOEFL reading test employs both linear texts and non-linear texts while NETEM (1) reading test adopts solely linear texts; Topic distribution in TOEFL reading texts is more balanced than that in NETEM reading texts; most TOEFL reading texts are exposition while most NETEM (1) texts are argumentation.(2) Both TOEFL and NETEM (1) reading test employ multiple choice and matching task, but NETEM (1) reading test adopts two more task type, ordering and translation, than TOEFL reading test; TOEFL only employs objective task type while NETEM (1) employs a combination of objective and subjective task types; With regard to reading skill coverage, both TOEFL and NETEM (1) reading tests assess test takers’abilities to understand text main idea, understand explicitly stated facts and details, deduce unfamiliar words and phrases in context, understand text organization, understand inferential meaning and understand author’s purpose and stance;(3) TOEFL and NETEM (1) reading texts share many textual features with university textbooks, including word length, lexical density, sentence length, and readability. This indicates their high correspondences to academic texts in the aspect of linguistic characteristics. But the relative low proportions of AWL words in them suggest that their representativenesses of academic texts still need to be enhanced. In terms of text length, text form, text topic and text genre, TOEFL reading texts are more representative of academic texts, and the higher reading speed requirement of TOEFL reading test indicates that TOEFL reading test is likely to better assess test takers’ expeditious reading strategies required in academic study than NETEM (1) reading test. With regard to the effort of reducing test bias, TOEFL reading test does better than NETEM (1) reading test in reducing possible test bias from text topic by evenly distributing reading texts in a variety of topic areas, while NETEM (1) reading test does better than TOEFL reading test in reducing possible test bias from task type by adopting more task types and a combination of objective and subjective task types. As to reading skill coverage,6 important reading skills in academic study are assessed by both tests. Judging from above, TOEFL reading test is a better EAP reading test than NETEM (1) reading test in terms of test content.On the basis of the above findings, this study tries to offer some suggestions for reading test designers, language teachers, students and test takers from the perspectives of reading test design, language teaching and learning and test preparation.