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ABSTRACT
As the biggest and most influential test, NMET has undergone more than 30 years,
during which it has played an important role in improving students’ quality and
selecting candidates to enter colleges and universities. Analyses on it are innumerable
every year, but most of them focus on test paper itself for the aim of improving students’
testing skills. Studies on NMET from the aspects of theoretical bases and overall
structure have hardly been done before. Whether NMET follows the process of
linguistic theory and whether NMET really tests students’ communicative ability
become the starting point of the paper.
The author firstly reviewed the history of language testing theory and
communicative competence, and classified language testing theory into four periods,
namely, Pre-scientific period, Psychometric-structuralist period, Integrative-
sociolinguistic period and Communicative-pragmatic period. Basing on the features of
communicative testing, Bachman’s Communicative Language Ability (CLA) model,
and the Test Method Facet, the author proposed a longitudinal study model for the
present thesis.
The model includes three components: Format, Content and Test Performance.
According to the changes of NMET on structure, weighting and content, the author
divided NMET into four phases (1978-1988,1989-1993,1994-2000 and 2001-2008),
and chose one representative test paper from each phase (1985, 1993, 1996 and 2008).
Then case studies on the four representative test papers were carried out based on the
longitudinal study model.
Study results show that NMET has tended to be more diversified in the aspect of
format. It has shifted from the pure language format use to the integrative use of
language and nonlanguage input, such as pictures and tables. As far as content is
concerned, it has switched from grammatical checking to integrative and
communicative language ability checking, and has made corresponding adjustments in
the aspects of item editing and weighting. Test Performance was carried out by 50
students of Grade Three from No. 74 Zhengzhou High Middle School, Henan Province.
In order to ensure the authenticity of test performance results, the author reorganized the
different parts of the four test papers. Students were required to do them as simulation
papers of NMET during class time under the monitoring of their teachers. Their papers