A, Assessing the Assessment System in Bangladesh: An Investigation into English Language Assessment of Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSC)

Abstract

The study aimed to reconsider the challenges of the English language assessment system in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in Bangladesh. It examined the strengths and weaknesses of individual test items in the SSC English First Paper, which comprises twelve items designed to assess students’ reading and writing skills. The study identified a noticeable gap between acquiring language skills and applying them among students who had passed the SSC public examination. It investigated test construction and item performance, focusing on difficulty level, discrimination index, validity, and reliability. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Quantitative data were collected through test administration to SSC 2022 examinees, while qualitative data were gathered through questionnaires administered to question setters and moderators. The researchers also examined relevant curriculum documents, syllabuses, and instructional manuals. The findings indicated an acceptable level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.798 for the twelve test items. However, the item involving rearranging sentences to make a story required structural and logical improvement. The study recommended improving the validity and reliability of SSC-level English test construction and answer-script assessment to ensure that examination scores accurately reflect learners’ competencies.