Alignment of a Language Instrument Scores to CEFR Levels: Methodological and Empirical Considerations

The purpose of the present report was to assess congruence between a language-based national examination (termed English placement test - EPT) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels. To this end, a series of methodological steps were put forth to accumulate evidence suggesting that language performance based on the EPT instrument can be split onto meaningful subgroups based on theoretical (expert judgement on difficulty level and CEFR correspondence) and empirical considerations (i.e., how well these levels and subgroups emerged). Participants were 2642 high school graduates who took on the EPT instrument as part of their entry criteria to the university and for the purposes of the present study only the structure subscale is presented. Items were classified as reflecting specific CEFR levels and a person-based analysis attempted to classify individuals sharing the same behavioral patterns. Results using a latent class analysis (LCA) indicated that a Pre-A1, an A1 an A2 a B1 and a B2 levels were present with regard to the structure domain of language. Results showed a strong alignment between the EPT structure domain and CEFR guidelines using various methodological approaches.