Assessing Reading By A Model Of Task Characteristics In Content Validation--Evaluating The Reading Part Of TEM 4(2000-2002)

TEM4 ( Test for English majors – band 4), as a national standardized test of English proficiency administered to English majors at the end of their foundation stage, has been increasingly gaining influence in recent years. Owing to its scientific approach, consistent marking, rigorous administration and comparable scores, TEM is now well established as a large-scale standardized test that has reached international standards of educational assessment, and is widely recognized in China. Also, for English majors, the ability to read efficiently is of vital importance. Therefore, this paper tries to pitch in the reading comprehension part of TEM4 to gain some insight into the current reading programs in universities in China. The research is carried out in the following aspects:Analysis of the test features such as settings, rubrics, characteristics of input and expected response is conducted in the light of the test task characteristic model revised from the Bachman and Palmer's model; then, the validation of the TEM-4 reading part by way of content analysis is carried out through comparison with the teaching syllabus, test syllabus and test specifications. Finally, recommendations and suggestions from both theoretical and empirical perspectives are put forward for further improvement.