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Englishteachingandtest1.IntroductionEnglishlanguageeducationplaysanimportantroleinsocialeducationandculturalconstructioninChina.AlthoughChinahasmadeenormousachievementsinvariousaspectsoftheoreticalstudy,syllabusconstruction,curriculumdesigning,textbookcompilationetc.,therearestillproblemsinitsdevelopingprocess.ReformsofEnglisheducationarenecessaryandimperativewhatevertheagendaforthepresentandthefuture.Amongmanyfactors,testinghasavitalfunctionintheEnglisheducationsystem-acomprehensive,objectiveanddeeperunderstandingoftestingwillthusbenefitthedecision-makingprocesswithregardstothereformofEnglisheducation.2.EnglishLanguageTestingandTeaching2.1TestingTestingistherunningofasystemoraprogramagainstapredeterminedseriesofdatatoarriveatapredictableresultforthepurposeofestablishingtheacceptabilityofthesystemorprogram.Testingincludestestingtarget,testingcontentsandtestingapproach.ThetargetofCollegeEnglishTestinginChina,bywhichwenormallyrefertoasclassroomtesting,istocheckhowstudentslearnthelanguage,suchastheirabilitiesofusingthelanguage.Thecontentsarefirmlylimitedinwhattheyhavelearnt,weshouldnevertestoverorundertheirlearning,orthetestingwouldbeanamorphic.TheTestingApproachincludeswrittentests,oraltestsandpracticetests.2.1.1TeachingandTestingDavies(1968:5)arguedthat“thegoodtestisanobedientservantsinceitfollowsandapestheteaching”.Theproperrelationshipbetweenteachingandtestingissurelythatofpartnership.Testingisawaytoreviewwhatstudentshavelearnt,andtotraintheirabilitiesofputtingwhattheyhavelearntintoeffect,tohelpthemlearnmore.Teachingforteachersisameanstotransmitknowledge,information,orwhateverrelated,tolearners.Testingisoneofthestandards,toweighteaching,whethersuccessfullyorunsuccessfully,butitisnotthelastwordonthesubject.Teaching,ofcourse,isnotonlyfortesting;toconsideritthatwaywouldbetofalselypromotetheachievementofhighscoresasouraim.2.1.2LearningandTestingTestingisusefulasameansofjudginglearning,althoughitisnottheonlyway.However,untilnowitisstillthemosteffectiveway,especiallyinChina.Besidesthat,thesociety,students’parents,schoolsevaluatethescoresastheresultofthestudents’learninginschools,that’swhythestudentsregardcapturingthehighscoresastheirstudyingaim.Inaddition,therearenotsufficientapproachestojudgewhetherthestudentsareleaningornot,sothescoreshavealwaysbeenthefirstimportantelementoftheirstudy.ThisphenomenonisverymuchconcernedwiththeeducationhistoryofChinaandChineseculturaltraditions.2.1.3TeachersandTestingTheprocessofconstructingtestsitselfisbeneficialbecauseit“helpsteachersputtheircoursesinperspectivesandencouragestheclarificationofmeaningfulobjectives”.Thewritingofitemsforcesinstructorstothinkagainaboutthereallyessentialcoursecontentandobjectives,andmakesthecontentandobjectivesasclearaspossible.Meanwhile,iftheywantstudentstolearnfacts,theytestthemontheirabilitytorecallinformation.Theirteststrytosendamessagetostudents,tellingthemthesearetheessentialthingstolearnfromthiscourse.Testsalsoprovideteacherswithusefulfeedbackaboutwhatstudentshaveandhavenotlearned.Knowledgeofwhatstudentsknowanddonotknowisveryimportanttotheteachersandalackofthisknowledgeislikelytobringaboutineffectiveinstruction.Ifteacherscanmakegooduseoftestinformation,betterteachingcanbeachieved.Feedbackfromtestscanhelptheteacherprovidemoreappropriateinstructionalguidanceforindividualstudentsaswellasfortheclassasawhole.2.1.4StudentsandTestingDuringthelearningprocess,studentscanbenefitgreatlyiftheyareclearofwhattheyknowandwhattheydonotknow.Testresultscanprovidethemwiththisinformation.Therefore,testscanaidtheirself-assessment.Periodictestsandfeedbackoftheresultscanhelpstudents“gaininsightintowhattheycandowell,themisconceptionsthatneedcorrectionandthedegreeofsilltheyhaveinvariousareas”.Suchinformationprovidesthestudentswithamoreobjectivebasisforassessingtheirownstrengthsandweaknesses.Therefore,wellpreparedandproperlyusedtestsserveaseffectivemeansoffindingoutstudents’strongpointsandweakpoints.Awell-preparedtestcanprovideaworthwhilelearningexperienceinitself.Testsprovideanopportunityforstudentstoshowwhattheyhavelearnedandtodiscoverthescopeanddepthoftheirknowledge.Theyalsotellstudentswhattheydonotknowandserveasaguidetofurtherstudy.Therefore,thecloseinterrelationshipamongteaching,learningandtestingmustbeintegratedinlanguageteachingandlearning.Acorrectarrangementofthesethreeaspectsdoeshelpwiththedevelopmentofeducation,otherwisebothteachersandstudentsaredoomedtoblindthemselvesandtogointhewrongdirection.ItisfarfromChina’snewpolicyofeducationofquality.3.FunctionsofEvaluationandMeasurementofTestingFromtheanalysisabouttherelationshipamongteaching,learningandtesting,weknowthatmeasurementinEnglishtestingisameansoftellinglearnerswhataretheirscoresinthetestandwhatleveltheyhavecomparativelyinagrouporaunity.Evaluationintestingreferstotheexplanationofthescores.Thefunctionofmeasurementandevaluationistopromptlearnerstolearn;afteranobjectiveanalysisofthescoresthelearnershave,wecanfindoutwhethertheyhavelearntsomethingornot,whattheyarenotwelllearnt,andsoon.Indetails,thefunctionsare: