| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| Dedication | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract (Chinese) | 第7-9页 |
| Abstract (English) | 第9-17页 |
| List of Tables | 第17-19页 |
| List of Figures | 第19-20页 |
| Chapter One: Introduction | 第20-24页 |
| ·Background | 第20-21页 |
| ·Purpose of the Study | 第21页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第21-22页 |
| ·Definition of Terms | 第22页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第22-23页 |
| ·Structure of the Dissertation | 第23-24页 |
| Chapter Two: Literature Review | 第24-58页 |
| ·Theoretical Foundation of CAT: Item Response Theory | 第24-25页 |
| ·Basic Assumptions of Item Response Theory | 第24-25页 |
| ·Compromise of Unidimensionality | 第25页 |
| ·CAT Components | 第25-28页 |
| ·Item Banking and Item Calibration | 第26-28页 |
| ·Development of Language CAT Projects | 第28-34页 |
| ·Purposes of Language CAT | 第31-33页 |
| ·Task Types of Language CAT | 第33-34页 |
| ·Multi-stage Design | 第34页 |
| ·Computer Adaptive or Computer Mediated Reading Research | 第34-39页 |
| ·Score Equivalence | 第34-36页 |
| ·Construct Equivalence | 第36-37页 |
| ·Computer Familiarity, Anxiety Level and Computer Interfaces | 第37-39页 |
| ·Construct of Reading Ability: Theoretical Considerations | 第39-50页 |
| ·Reading Process | 第39-42页 |
| ·Dimensionality of Reading Construct | 第42-44页 |
| ·Reading Skills | 第44-50页 |
| ·Test Evaluation | 第50-58页 |
| ·Messick’s Test Validation Theory | 第50-51页 |
| ·Bachman and Palmer’s Framework of Test Usefulness Evaluation | 第51-54页 |
| ·Evaluation of CALT Usefulness | 第54-58页 |
| Chapter Three: The Design of Reading CAT | 第58-80页 |
| ·Purposes of the Computer Adaptive Reading Test | 第58-59页 |
| ·Software Template | 第59-65页 |
| ·Questionmark Overview | 第59-60页 |
| ·Questionmark Perception | 第60-61页 |
| ·Jump Blocks | 第61-65页 |
| ·Item Adaptation | 第65-70页 |
| ·Change the Items to Suit Chinese Cultural Situation | 第68-69页 |
| ·Change the Words to Suit Chinese Curriculum | 第69-70页 |
| ·Change the Choices to be Parallel | 第70页 |
| ·Method of Determining Item Difficulty | 第70-72页 |
| ·Item Difficulty | 第70-71页 |
| ·Readability | 第71-72页 |
| ·Common Issues in CAT Design | 第72-80页 |
| ·Size of Item Bank | 第72-73页 |
| ·Entry Level | 第73页 |
| ·Stopping Rule | 第73-74页 |
| ·Design Map | 第74-77页 |
| ·Scoring Rule | 第77-78页 |
| ·Interface Design | 第78-80页 |
| Chapter Four: Research Methodology | 第80-92页 |
| ·Overview of the Research Design | 第80-81页 |
| ·The Pilot Study | 第81-83页 |
| ·The Main Study | 第83-85页 |
| ·The Study Population and Participants | 第85-86页 |
| ·The Population | 第85页 |
| ·The Participants | 第85页 |
| ·ESL Instructors | 第85-86页 |
| ·The Instrumentation | 第86-90页 |
| ·Test Anxiety Inventory | 第86页 |
| ·Students’ Attitudes Towards Computers | 第86-87页 |
| ·Evaluating Test Design with Think Aloud Verbal Protocol | 第87-88页 |
| ·Student Interviews | 第88页 |
| ·Researcher-developed Questionnaire | 第88页 |
| ·Computer Adaptive Reading Test | 第88-89页 |
| ·Placement Test | 第89-90页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis Procedure | 第90-92页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis in the First and Second Phase | 第90页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis in the Third Phase | 第90-92页 |
| Chapter Five: Results, Findings and Discussion | 第92-143页 |
| ·Introduction | 第92页 |
| ·Descriptive and Inferential Analysis of Test Anxiety | 第92-96页 |
| ·Students’ Attitudes toward Computers | 第96-98页 |
| ·Data on Students’ Experiences with Computers and Computerized Test | 第98-111页 |
| ·Descriptive Data Analysis on Time Spent with Computers | 第99-103页 |
| ·Descriptive Data Analysis on Attitudes toward Computerized Test | 第103-110页 |
| ·Descriptive Data Analysis on Reading Skills | 第110-111页 |
| ·Analysis of Data on Think Aloud Protocol | 第111-116页 |
| ·Analysis of Data on Item Difficulty | 第111-113页 |
| ·Analysis of Data on Reading Skill | 第113-116页 |
| ·Analysis of Test Scores | 第116-127页 |
| ·Analysis of Computer Adaptive Test Scores | 第116-121页 |
| ·Analysis of Placement Test Scores | 第121-125页 |
| ·Correlation of Scores of Computer Adaptive Reading Test and Placement Test | 第125-127页 |
| ·Correlation Analysis of Factors Concerned in the Study | 第127-130页 |
| ·Findings and Discussions | 第130-143页 |
| ·Research Question 1 ： Is the item difficulty from published materials reliable? | 第130-132页 |
| ·Research Question 2: Is the participants’ test anxiety influenced by the computer adaptive reading test? | 第132-134页 |
| ·Research Question 3: What is the relationship between participants’perception of the computer adaptive reading test and their attitudes or experiences with computer? | 第134-136页 |
| ·Research Question 4: Can the computer adaptive reading test measure the expected reading skill? | 第136-137页 |
| ·Research Question 5: What is the correlation of the computer adaptive reading test with other test? | 第137-139页 |
| ·Research Question 6: How reliable is the computer adaptive reading test? | 第139-143页 |
| Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion | 第143-156页 |
| ·Summary of the Study | 第143-145页 |
| ·Conclusion | 第145-148页 |
| ·Educational Implications | 第148-150页 |
| ·Educational Implications for Test Designers | 第148-150页 |
| ·Educational Implications for Language Teachers | 第150页 |
| ·Limitations and Delimitations | 第150-153页 |
| ·Limitations | 第150-152页 |
| ·Delimitations | 第152-153页 |
| ·Recommendation for Future Research | 第153-156页 |
| ·Recommendation for Future Research Relative to Study Limitations129 | 第153-154页 |
| ·Recommendation for Future Research Relative to Study Delimitations | 第154-156页 |
| References | 第156-171页 |
| Appendix A: Scoring Scheme of the Test | 第171-175页 |
| Appendix B: Test Directions for the Computer Adaptive Reading Test | 第175-176页 |
| Appendix C: Instruction and Practice Tasks for Retrospective Verbal Report | 第176-177页 |
| Appendix D: Material Used in the Third Phase of the Study | 第177-180页 |
| Appendix E: Test Anxiety Inventory | 第180-182页 |
| Appendix F: Attitudes Toward Computers | 第182-184页 |
| Appendix G: Researcher-Developed Questionnaire | 第184-187页 |
