Item objective congruence analysis for multidimensional items content validation of a reading test in Sri Lankan university

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study that intended to seek the content validity (CV) evidence of an instrument to measure the reading ability of university students in Sri Lanka. The reading passages and items were adapted from CEFR aligned Learning Resource Network (LRN) materials. The items were designed based on the cognitive processing involved in completing each reading task as prescribed by Khalifa and Weir (2009). As a part of collecting evidence for content validation of the instrumentation, Item Objective Congruence (IOC) analysis is used in this study. In IOC, the congruence between the cognitive processing of reading and the test items were studied providing quantified data for CV. A pool of twelve experts examined a total of 41 test items against eight cognitive processing effectively. As the experts had chosen more than one objective for an item, the IOC formula simplified by Crocker and Aligna (1986) for multi-dimensional assessment of multiple combinations of skills was applied in the present study. The findings of the IOC indicate the experts’ varying degrees of agreement in terms of what some of the items were designed to assess. 38 items had acceptable IOC indices, one item was removed from the study and two items were modified. Items having high congruence show that they test only one skill and those indicating low congruence notify that, items assess more than one cognitive processing skill. The study demonstrates the utility of the IOC method in gathering evidence for CV. Test development and validation are crucial in assessment which is the first and foremost process to evaluate educational management.