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Abstract The MET is the English test for entrance to all universities in China. It claims an annual test population of 3 million and by sheer size can well be called a test of great power. The article opens with the proposition that the official authority and gigantic population size of the MET constitute only its extrinsic power, which by itself can be a negative force. For a test to be truly and positively powerful its extrinsic power needs to be combined with an intrinsic power, which lies in its validity and reliability, and is expressed as a power to inform (provide feedback) significantly and to influence (cause washback) benevolently. The article then gives an account of what has been done in the past five years to enhance the intrinsic power of the MET and, as a result, what feedback and washback have been gained, which, in turn, demonstrates how powerful in the positive sense a language test like the MET can be.
Xiaoju Li (Mon,) studied this question.