A Study On The Validity Of The Fast Reading Test In CET-6

College English Test band6(CET-6) has undergone innovation since2006. Fast reading, as one type of new testing formats, has beencategorized into the scope of reading comprehension test (RCT).Whether the fast reading test (FRT) which is considered as thecompulsory test is valid or not, whether it measures the skimming andscanning ability in practice or not, whether it is consistent with therequired abilities listed in the College English Curriculum Requirements(2007)(curriculum requirements, hereafter) and College English TestSyllabus Band Six (Revised version)(2006)(testing syllabus, hereafter) ornot, are the central concern of the test takers and researchpractitioners. The purpose of writing this thesis is to answer the questionsabove, and explore the factors that are likely to affect the validity ofFRT.With the help of literature research method, the writer studies thecontent validity of FRT in CET-6that ranges from2007to2010from theperspective of qualitative analysis. What’s more, the face validity,criterion validity, and construct validity of FRT are investigatedquantitatively by means of reading strategies questionnaires andmaking an experiment. The conclusions of each validity study aredrawn by comparing the data obtained above with the designatedreading abilities listed in the curriculum requirements and testingsyllabus.The conclusions indicate that the FRT in CET-6, in general, conformsto the specifications of both curriculum requirements and testingsyllabus in terms of content. The testees have a moderate evaluationtoward FRT, and most of the feedbacks come from the complaints ofthe overlength of the passages and shortage of time. As for the readingstrategies, skimming and scanning have already been widely adopted by students, and the skimming approach is more frequently used inpractice. However, the average score of FRT is not satisfactory, thereason of which may lie in the fact that the speed reading exercises arenot paid due attention in normal times. In-depth reading test (IDRT) canbe considered as the criterion of FRT, and the correlation coefficient ofboth tests shows that they are generally correlated, which means FRTand IDRT, in nature, differentiate each other although they share thecommon trait of measuring reading comprehension ability. Finally, theresults of the study are hoped to play a somewhat guiding role in theimprovement of FRT in CET-6.