Item alignment with course objectives and item quality in an English language preparatory school

Abstract

In this study, the alignment of test items and learning objectives and parameters of assessment items at a private university English language preparatory school were analyzed. For this purpose, all items in quizzes and midterms were examined in terms of their match with learning objectives. In the first stage of the study, item-objective alignment analyses were conducted separately for listening, grammar, speaking and reading domains. In the second stage, item difficulty and discrimination parameters of all items were calculated. Based on these alignment analyses, it was concluded that overall alignment seems quite good; however, few items did not match any objectives and some objectives were tested a lot more than others. Furthermore, there are some items that need revision according to item difficulty and discrimination parameters. At the end of the study, findings were discussed and several suggestions were provided.