Validating TEM4Reading Component

TEM4(Test for English majors-band4), as a national standardized test of Englishproficiency administered to English majors in the second year of their undergraduatestudies, has increasingly gained recognition and impact in the past few years. Thanksto its scientific approach, consistent marking, rigorous administration, and comparablescores, it is now well established as a large-scale standardized test that has enjoyednationwide popularity in China. Reading is an important part of TEM4, which aims atassessing reading proficiency of English majors who are expected to possess thecapability for efficient reading. Therefore, this paper attempts to probe into thereading comprehension part of TEM4from a cognitive perspective with a view topromoting beneficial backwash for the present reading programs in universities inChina. The study is implemented as follows:Investigation of the reading component’s validity is carried out in the light of theinformation-processing model proposed by Embretson and Wetzel, in addition to thecontent analysis via comparison with teaching syllabus, test syllabus and testspecifications. Finally, recommendations and suggestions from both theoretical andempirical perspectives are advanced for future reading test improvement.