Relating reading comprehension in the Spanish as a foreign language national exam to the CEFR: some aspects of evaluation

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the results of a project which tried to relate the reading comprehension test in the Spanish as a foreign language national matura exam to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The CEFR  and the evaluation guidelines (Council of Europe 2009) present reference points and standardization tools for establishing the correspondence between the knowledge required in the exam on the one hand and the levels of linguistic competence proposed by the CEFR on the other hand. Reading comprehension is analysed as a communicative process in foreign and native language. After introducing the project of calibrating the foreign language exam to the CEFR and presenting the methodology employed in the study, a comparative analysis of the results is presented. The analysis combines two methods: Angoff and Basket standard setting methods and a descriptive method based on the CEFR descriptive scales. Cut scores for B1 level in the elementary examination and for B2 level in the advanced examination as established by the panel of judges are proposed. However, a detailed descriptive analysis of each exam item has shown that the CEFR descriptors should be more transparent, comprehensive and precise, given that reading comprehension is a threedimensional skill consisting of various general and linguistic (sub)competences.