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the target language as cited in Brown, 2004, p.28. It indicates that in order a test task meets authenticity; the test task should simulate a real-
world task and the test task ’s aim is not to test a grammatical form of
language. This is also referred to a statement about authentic texts from William 1984. He states that authentic texts are written to convey a
message as cited in Day, 2003, p.4. It means that the authentic texts aim mainly for communication and
not for teaching grammar or lexis. However, the language used in both test tasks and test texts should be as natural as the target language. The target
language used in National Examination is American English and British English. Therefore, the authenticity contains five visible and important
indicators as what Brown 2004 claims. The important indicators are the natural language which is used in the test, contextualization of the items,
relevance of the test topics and the learners, presence of thematic test item organization, and representation of the real-world task or sources p.28.
3. National Examination
According to Education Ministry Regulation No. 592011 on National Examination,
“National Examination, abbreviated as UN, is a national standardized test administered nationally in order to test
students’ competence achievement on a particular subject in a group of science and
technology ”. National Examination is administered to each educational
level starting from elementary school level to senior high school level. The test is to measure and assess the students’ competency of particular
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subjects of study which are examined. National Examination is annually administered to students in the highest grade of an educational level in order to
pass a certain level of education and then to continue their study to the higher level of education. In senior high schools, National Examination is administered
to each majors; natural science, social science, and linguistics. National Examination is prepared by Department of Education which instructs groups of
teachers MGMP to make the test items. The test items for each region are different in order to avoid fraudulence which is carried out by the students.
Therefore, there are five types of National Examination year in 2012 administered to senior high schools in Yogyakarta and the types will be explained in chapter
four. This study deals with the five versions of English items of National
Examination year 2012 for senior high schools which were used in Yogyakarta. The test versions are A57, B69, C71, D32, and E45. The five test versions refers
to the reading section since the listening section of the National Examination year 2012 is available only in one version. This study is focused on the test items
which are administered to natural science and social science students.
4. Senior High Schools
