效度是现代语言测试的核心。一项测试是好是坏,首先要看它的效度。效度的高低是衡量语言测试质量最重要的指标,或者说是语言测试的基本出发点。一项效度很低的语言测试是没有意义的。因而,一项考试,尤其是规模巨大、影响深远的考试,“必须进行科学论断,以取信于民”(桂诗春1998:v)。效度如此重要,但国内外名目繁多的考试中到底有哪些经过了效度检验呢?据Alderson等(1995)的调查,英国的众多考试机构很少对他们的考试进 Validity is the core of modern language testing. A test is good or bad, the first depends on its validity. Validity is the most important measure of the quality of language testing, or language testing is the basic starting point. A less effective language test is meaningless. Therefore, an exam, especially a large and far-reaching exam, must be judged scientifically to win the trust of the people. "(Guishishun 1998: v). Validity is so important, but what are the tests of validity at home and abroad? According to a survey by Alderson et al. (1995), many test institutions in Britain seldom test their tests