A Review of the Validity and Reliability of Chinese Oral Test in the Past Two Decades

Abstract

With the growing demand for teaching and assessment of Chinese as a Second Language, oral proficiency testing has received heightened attention as a key component affecting educational quality. Oral Chinese Test of international Chinese education is becoming more and more important nowadays due to the implementation of the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Education. This paper reviews the literature on Chinese oral proficiency testing research since the beginning of the 21st century, analyzing the dynamics and progress of validity and reliability studies within this domain. The study selects relevant literature from authoritative databases for analysis and uses a literature review method to organize and assess the scientific rigor and reliability of various oral proficiency tests. The results indicate that while Chinese oral proficiency testing has progressively refined its scoring systems and criteria based on the principles of comprehensiveness and communicativeness, there remains room for improvement in the practical operation regarding validity and reliability. Further optimization is needed through diversified research methodologies. The paper suggests that future research should delve into the scope of applicability, evaluation standards, and technical support of Chinese oral proficiency testing to enhance its overall quality.