Using Item Response Theory for Constructing a Criterion -Referenced Test in English Language (1) for Al-Quds Open University Students According to Rasch Model

Abstract

The present study aimed at using the item response theory for constructing a criterion -referenced test in English Language (1) for Al-Quds Open University (QOU) Students according to Rasch Model. To achieve this objective, a test of 45-multiple-choice items with four choices was constructed to measure students' achievement in English Language (1). Later and upon the referees' recommendations, five items were excluded because they were found to be similar to other items which reduced the number of items to 40 .The 40 -item test was administered among a sample of 956 male and female freshmen students at QOU. The most significant results were shown in verifying the assumptions of item response theory in this study in addition to having 38 items that were in consistent with Rasch Model while 2 items were excluded as they found to be inconsistent with Rasch Model. Furthermore, 63 individuals were excluded from the sample because they were found inconsistent with the model. Additionally item difficulty of the test was found to be acceptable and consistent with the criteria given in the review of literature. The analysis also produced a good test that has different forms of validity in addition to (0.99) reliability of items and (0.80) reliability of individuals. The results also revealed that the maximum value of information was achieved at ( which agrees with Rasch Model and that the test offers the maximum information at medium ability levels while the minimum information was at both lowest and highest ability levels.