Applying alternative tests in modern teaching context

MODERN PROBLEMS OF PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS 
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within proper time limit by test takers. However, this test would take those students 
more than two hours to accomplish everything since it has two complicated reading 
passages. With these reasons, I think that time and effort should be considered in this 
test. Secondly, validity is partly met too. Messick (1989) claimed that adequacy and 
appropriateness of the test should be backed up by empirical and theoretical 
rationales (p.11). In terms of content validity, this test is likely to fail because in the 
first part both reading passages are not related to the topic as well as the essay. 
Admittedly, as they are studying IELTS materials they should take tests based on 
IELTS, but there are different topics given in the syllabus and readings in the exam 
do not align with the syllabus. Therefore, the reading texts also should be appropriate 
to the topic itself. In this way, it should be also mentioned that face validity somehow 
fails too due to difficulty level and not well-constructed format. On the other hand, 
reliability was addressed to some extent. For example, the tasks have unambiguous 
items and provide specific rubrics with the test taker despite some unclear directions. 
In addition, there are some spelling mistakes in the second section of part 1. Perhaps 
rater-reliability is not wholly achieved because of inattention.
Bachman and Palmer (1996) put forward the view that authenticity is the 
correspondence of the between the features of a target language and the given 
language (p.23). Alternative tests at present should hold authenticity in a bid to help 
students learn in a faster pace. In this given test reading passages are partially 
authentic as they are taken from different articles or journals and the topics are 
intriguing. Lastly, washback can be both positive and negative. Since not all students 
are capable of doing this test successfully, at the end when the results come out they 
give negative feedback like Doston. He also claimed that reading part was 
challenging and they could not manage the test in 2 hours. However, questions of 
legal English were quite easier and appropriate to the course. Therefore, the balance 
between the tests should be equal.
It is undeniable that every test holds both strengths and weaknesses. This test is 
not an exception either. Firstly, according to its strengths it can be said that the 
division of the questions are satisfactory as they is an equal number of questions in 

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