Abstract
Validating language tests have not yet received sufficient attention from researchers and language teaching professionals in many universities. Students at universities need specific sets of language skills for success in their educational study and future careers. Such skills can be found in English for Specific Purpose (ESP) courses where English is tested within a specific context, such as Engineering in the sciences and Law in the social sciences. The focus on the validity event for testing ESP arose from the need to find a systematic and efficient method which will enable test developers to produce more effective tests. Testing ESP requires knowledge about candidates’ needs and goals of a course; it often applies the use of authentic materials and test tasks specific to the course context. This paper discusses the importance of a validation process in testing ESP reading, adopting Weir’s (Language testing and validation: An evidence-based approach. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2005) socio-cognitive framework for validating reading tests. The framework is comprehensive and ensures a meaningful test validity process and data gathering in all its stages. It enables validating the ESP test in three stages: before, during, and after the test administration. Data gathered from the validation study help in pointing problems such as test format, content, rating process, and administrative elements such as fairness and security.