ABSTRACT
Tests at local levels often demonstrate distinctive local characteristics: Their actual test interpretation and test use are invariably more complex, varied, and nuanced than intended, usually shaped and decided by local purposes. The intended goal has been affected by factors such as the differing interpretations and practices of central policy at a local level, the professional abilities of teachers, test-takers’ perceived absence of an authentic target language use environment, and the stakes and values attached to the test results. In modern validity theories, test-takers have been widely recognized as a valuable source of evidence in revealing the intricate interplay of intended outcomes of a test and its practice in reality. A test may motivate students to learn, but what and how they learn often deviates from what is originally intended to be achieved through the implementation of a test.
