An Alignment Study Of The English Test In The Algerian National High School Exit Exam(BAC) With The New English Curriculum Expectations

This study investigates the degree of consistency between the content of the Standardized English test in the Algerian Foreign Languages Stream Secondary School Exit Exam (BAC) and the national reformed curriculum expectations. The score of the English test for particularly this stream is critical to students’success in this exam. Our aim, by finding out about the degree to which these two documents match with each other, is to measure the extent to which students are assessed on what they are supposed to be taught; because what is taught presumably depends on the same curriculum expectations. Finding out about alignment is also of great significance to the process of validating a test (Webb,2002). This study attempted to systematically dissect both the depth and width of the test under investigation by analyzing its items according to Webb’s alignment model. Two types of data collection methods were adopted in this study:teachers’and inspectors’questionnaires and an alignment review sheet of a sample of five tests (2009-2013) which is based mainly on Webb’s alignment process. The latter formed the main crux of this research. Four criteria were relied on in our design of the alignment sheet:categorical concurrence, depth-of-knowledge consistency, range-of-knowledge correspondence, and balance of representation. Document/content analysis, both qualitative and quantitative, was conducted to analyze content agreement between the tests and curriculum expectations. Qualitative content analysis of the questionnaires and the quantitative content analysis of the alignment review sheet have together enriched discussion and provided answers to the questions of this research. The test was found to be adequately linked with the content of the curriculum, yet some deficiencies both at the level of the depth and the width of knowledge assessed were highlighted. Suggestions for reforming the content of the test were proposed. The Webb’s model proved very useful for this study and potential for further research using this model or similar models to study educational alignment is also encouraged.