A Study On Reading Comprehension Tests Of New NMET Based On Task Characteristics Framework

As a high-stakes selective test,the National Matriculation Test(NMT)has a bearing on the future development of students.The quality of the test has a direct impact on its function,and validity is the core criterion for the quality of a set of test papers(Bachman,1990).In September 2014,the State Council issued the Implementing Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Examination and Enrolment System,marking the beginning of a new round of NMT reform.The reading comprehension section of the National Matriculation English Test(NMET)is worth about 27% of the score.It can be said that the quality of the reading comprehension test can,to a large extent,directly affect the overall quality of the English test paper.Therefore,it is necessary to validate the validity of the reading comprehension section.In this study,10 sets of English test papers are selected from regions implementing the NMT reform from 2017-2021,and their reading comprehension sections are taken as the subject of study.Based on Bachman and Palmer’s framework of task characteristics,it is adjusted according to the actual situation of the new NMET and with reference to the relevant requirements of the 2017 edition(revised in2020)of New Curriculum Standards and Examination Syllabus.Based on the new framework,the selected 10 sets of NMET papers are studied from two perspectives,namely characteristics of the input and expected responses.The characteristics of the input include linguistic characteristics(length,readability,vocabulary,discourse and cohesive devices),genre characteristics,topic characteristics and pragmatic characteristics.The expected responses characteristics are mainly related to the questions on the reading tests and the reading skills examined.In this study,10 sets of NMET papers are analyzed to answer the following questions(1)What are characteristics of input in the New NMET Reading Test?(2)What are characteristics of expected responses in the New NMET Reading Test?The following conclusions are drawn from the study: Firstly,in terms of input characteristics,the reading materials are of moderate length and difficulty,appropriate to the developmental level of senior secondary students,with authentic and vivid content and coherent and fluent discourse that fits the actual context of English.The reading materials are rich in topics,closely related to students’ lives,and cover all genres in the new Curriculum Standards and Examination Syllabus.The amount of new vocabulary in the short texts read is low,all below the 3% required by the Examination Syllabus.Secondly,in terms of expected responses,the reading tests covered the reading skills required in the new Curriculum Standards and the Examination Syllabus.The number and length of test questions in the reading test on the paper are moderate and in line with the difficulty of the test.Overall,these aspects are in line with the requirements of the Curriculum Standards and the Examination Syllabus,and it can be said it has high validity in terms of content.However,the following deficiencies are also identified through the study.In terms of genre,there is a predominance of argumentative essays,which take up a large proportion of the test,thus neglecting the examination of essays and explanatory texts.In general,the reading materials cover a wide range of topics,but some of the topics specified in the New Curriculum Standards and Examination Syllabus are never covered.In terms of length,the length of reading materials in the Tianjin paper is too long,which makes the test more difficult for candidates.In terms of expected responses,the length and number of questions in the Tianjin paper are higher than in other regions and more difficult.In terms of reading skills,the examination of detailed information and reasoning is much higher than other skills.The above areas have low relatively content validity and need to be addressed and improved when proposing future questionsThis study makes suggestions for the above problems identified,both in terms of language testing and English language teaching.Finally,the shortcomings of this study and future directions for research are elaborated in the end.