An Investigation of How Texts Are Used in Middle School English Tests

This study investigates how texts are used in middle school English tests. For this aim, it analyzed 30 middle school in-house English tests, focusing on the number, types and length of the texts used and the kinds of knowledge measured with the texts. In order to see if there are any similarities or differences among the tests for different grade levels, the analysis also compared the ways in which the texts are used in the tests for the three grade levels. The result shows that even though the tests share common features, there are also variations in the ways how individual teachers use the texts in constructing the tests, which mainly result from the teacher’s own choice and contribute to the differences in the quality of the tests administered in different schools. Based on the result, the study concludes that in order to guarantee a similar quality of the tests administered in different schools, it is necessary to reduce the arbitrariness in using the texts by establishing a national standard for the use of the texts in constructing the tests.