• Authenticity
Bachman and Palmer (1996) define authenticity as “the degree of correspondence of the characteristics of a given language test task to the features of a target language use (TLU) task” (p. 23). Authenticity is a critical quality of language tests because it investigates the generalizability of score interpretations, thus it closely relevant to construct validity. Also, authenticity affects test takers’ perception of the test. Test takers tend to provide positive affective responses and perform at their best when the test task is likely to be enacted in the real world (Bachman & Palmer, 1996).
First of all, the characteristics of both integrated and independent task correspond to those of TLU tasks.
Secondly, the process of completing the test tasks is almost the same with the procedure of completing tasks in TLU domain. Students need to take notes on what they have heard and they have read first. Then they summarize and paraphrase the useful information. At last, they write them down using all these resources to support and express their own opinions.
Thirdly, the language use in prompts is close to the TLU domain. The reading passages are from real textbooks and course materials. Topics in independent writing authentic relate to test takers’ personal experience and daily life.
Fourthly, the rubrics (see Appendix A) of the test tasks are close to the real academic writing standards. In an academic setting, a student’s writing paper is evaluated on the basis of its expression and organization. Students are required to present an idea in a clear and well-organized manner. Their abilities of organizing information, developing accurate content, and using grammar and vocabulary appropriately and precisely are valued both in the test tasks and in TLU domain (ETS, 2007a).