Architecture Analysis Of Language Testing

The test of the foreign language is an important part of the process of foreignlanguage teaching, which has a huge backwash effect. As a measurement tool, in thewhole process of development, it must always maintain its reliability and validity, andalways maintain measurement accuracy, which requires the exam a detailed analysis ofmonitoring and evaluation.The questionnaires for teachers and students as the feedbackare also required. What is more, in order to keep pace with the development oflinguistics and language teaching, new ideas and method of language testing should beexplored.Just like buildings, tests are designed and built for specific purposes, people, anduses. However, both buildings and tests grow and change over time as the needs oftheir users change. Sometimes, they are also both used for purposes other than thoseintended in the original designs.This paper explores architecture as a metaphor for language test development.Firstly, it describes test purpose and use, and how this affects test design. Secondly, itdescribes and illustrates the layers of test architecture and design. Thirdly, it discussesthe concept of test retrofit. Retrofit implies changes to layers of the test architecturewhich must be articulated for a validity argument to be constructed and evaluated.As an important language test, Test for English Majors(TEM)has been givenenough attention by the domestic scholars. Most of the present researches focus on itsrestructuring and washback effects on English teaching and learning. The syllabus forTEM8has already changed for several times. This paper mainly compared the1997editions of Syllabus for TEM8and the2004editions of it. The research is designed to answer the following questions:1)what is thedifferences between these two syllabus?2)how does this test retrofit happen?3)doesthis retrofit work well?Based on the results reported in the investigation,the author puts forward somestrategies for promoting positive effects of the TEM8restructuring, such as takingmore authentic materials in the TEM8, adopting various answcr formats,testing theGeneral Knowledge section deeper and broader,and providing detailed and timelyfeedback of TEM8scoring.