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1. Test description
1.1 General description of the first mock test
The Senior High School Entrance Exam is held in the middle of June every year in Guangzhou， China. It aims at examining whether the junior high school graduates have achieved the English level which is set according to the English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education （2001）， and how much they have achieved. This exam is a high-stakes test. It has serious consequences for schools， teachers， and students （Callet， 2005）. A candidate’s study plan mainly depends on the results of this exam， since it is used to select the suitable students for senior high school education. The stakeholders are those who will be affected by the outcomes of the test （Davies， 1999）， including parents， students， teachers， the educational bureau and so on. They pay much attention to this exam. Therefore， nearly all the districts and some prestigious junior high schools organize mock tests before the Senior High School Entrance Exam every year so that the stakeholders can predict how well the candidates can perform in the entrance exam.
The first mock test is regarded as the most important mock test， as it is organized by the district educational bureau. All the schools in the district participate in the first mock test. They will be ranked according to their outcomes of the test and so will the students. The outcomes reflect so far how well a school has helped its students to review the knowledge and skills. In addition， before the entrance exam， candidates refer to the results they got from the first mock test to fill in the senior high school application form. Thus， the first mock test plays an important role in influencing the school’s fame and the candidate’s chance of entering a senior high school.
There were 1，0695 candidates taking part in the 2018 first Mock Test of Baiyun District where I have been working. The number of candidates participating in this test in the school where I work is 460. The district educational researcher designs the test. The reading section contains two parts. One is reading comprehension， the other is reading and gap-filling. The total score of the test is 150， and the reading comprehension accounts for 40 scores， which means approximately 26.67% of the whole test. There are four passages in the reading comprehension. The words of each passage is around 300. There are five multiple choice items under each passage. Except the sections of the Vocabulary Spelling， Sentence Completion， Short Essay Writing， which are scored by the selected teachers from each school of the district， the other sections of the test are scored by the computer. 1.2 Motivation of the research and my research question
I am teaching Junior 3 students during this academic year. My students are busy preparing for the entrance exam by doing piles of test papers. On the other hand， I also have to do many test papers and to sum up the rules and strategies about how to tackle the test for my students. However， some papers are of low quality. Sometimes my students complain the items set ridiculous traps for them. Both my students and I wonder whether the items really test what they intend to measure. Therefore， it is important for me to explore the test quality of reading comprehension items in the first mock test.
My research question is to what extent is the first mock test valid in terms of test quality.
1.3 The structure of my assignment
My essay contains six parts. In the first part， I will introduce the general description of the reading section of the test， the motivation， the research question and the structure of my essay. The next part is the literature review which includes the understanding of validity， aspects of reading， multiple choice test items and guidelines used in reading assessment. The third part is the methodology and limitation. I will use the guidelines in reading assessment with multiple choice questions to inspect whether the test items are valid. Also， the limitation of the research will be mentioned. In the fourth part， I will present the findings and analyze the problems of the items. Suggestions for improving the items will be shown in the fifth part. The last part is the conclusion， where the main points of the essay will be summarized.
2. Literature review
2.1 Validity
The meaning of validity has changed in the past decades. In the past， validity was seen as a typical feature of a test. If a test or its composing section measures what it plans to measure， then the test or its composing section is valid （Henning， 1987）. Cronbach and Meehl put forth that there were several types of validity—construct validity， concurrent validity， predictive validity and content validity （Cronbach
1.1 General description of the first mock test
The Senior High School Entrance Exam is held in the middle of June every year in Guangzhou， China. It aims at examining whether the junior high school graduates have achieved the English level which is set according to the English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education （2001）， and how much they have achieved. This exam is a high-stakes test. It has serious consequences for schools， teachers， and students （Callet， 2005）. A candidate’s study plan mainly depends on the results of this exam， since it is used to select the suitable students for senior high school education. The stakeholders are those who will be affected by the outcomes of the test （Davies， 1999）， including parents， students， teachers， the educational bureau and so on. They pay much attention to this exam. Therefore， nearly all the districts and some prestigious junior high schools organize mock tests before the Senior High School Entrance Exam every year so that the stakeholders can predict how well the candidates can perform in the entrance exam.
The first mock test is regarded as the most important mock test， as it is organized by the district educational bureau. All the schools in the district participate in the first mock test. They will be ranked according to their outcomes of the test and so will the students. The outcomes reflect so far how well a school has helped its students to review the knowledge and skills. In addition， before the entrance exam， candidates refer to the results they got from the first mock test to fill in the senior high school application form. Thus， the first mock test plays an important role in influencing the school’s fame and the candidate’s chance of entering a senior high school.
There were 1，0695 candidates taking part in the 2018 first Mock Test of Baiyun District where I have been working. The number of candidates participating in this test in the school where I work is 460. The district educational researcher designs the test. The reading section contains two parts. One is reading comprehension， the other is reading and gap-filling. The total score of the test is 150， and the reading comprehension accounts for 40 scores， which means approximately 26.67% of the whole test. There are four passages in the reading comprehension. The words of each passage is around 300. There are five multiple choice items under each passage. Except the sections of the Vocabulary Spelling， Sentence Completion， Short Essay Writing， which are scored by the selected teachers from each school of the district， the other sections of the test are scored by the computer. 1.2 Motivation of the research and my research question
I am teaching Junior 3 students during this academic year. My students are busy preparing for the entrance exam by doing piles of test papers. On the other hand， I also have to do many test papers and to sum up the rules and strategies about how to tackle the test for my students. However， some papers are of low quality. Sometimes my students complain the items set ridiculous traps for them. Both my students and I wonder whether the items really test what they intend to measure. Therefore， it is important for me to explore the test quality of reading comprehension items in the first mock test.
My research question is to what extent is the first mock test valid in terms of test quality.
1.3 The structure of my assignment
My essay contains six parts. In the first part， I will introduce the general description of the reading section of the test， the motivation， the research question and the structure of my essay. The next part is the literature review which includes the understanding of validity， aspects of reading， multiple choice test items and guidelines used in reading assessment. The third part is the methodology and limitation. I will use the guidelines in reading assessment with multiple choice questions to inspect whether the test items are valid. Also， the limitation of the research will be mentioned. In the fourth part， I will present the findings and analyze the problems of the items. Suggestions for improving the items will be shown in the fifth part. The last part is the conclusion， where the main points of the essay will be summarized.
2. Literature review
2.1 Validity
The meaning of validity has changed in the past decades. In the past， validity was seen as a typical feature of a test. If a test or its composing section measures what it plans to measure， then the test or its composing section is valid （Henning， 1987）. Cronbach and Meehl put forth that there were several types of validity—construct validity， concurrent validity， predictive validity and content validity （Cronbach