Aligning assessment(s) to the CEFR by Neus Figueras
SL Curriculum and Assessment Team: Arda Bayraktaroğlu, Deniz Çiçekoğlu, Esra Gün Alayafi, İdil Ertugan, Seda Ertum Emirler, İrem Gedil, Gamze Bozkurt, Gökçen Kaça, Gülçin Coşgun, Merve Demirkapılı, Nesibe Bilgiç, Selin Şenay
On April 17, 2025, members of the Curriculum and Assessment Team attended a workshop titled "Aligning Assessment(s) to the CEFR", delivered by Neus Figueras. The session provided both theoretical foundations and practical strategies for aligning language assessments with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
The workshop began by defining alignment as the consistency between assessment objectives, content, and evaluation criteria in relation to CEFR levels. To illustrate this concept, Figueras used the analogy of wheel alignment in vehicles. Just as proper wheel alignment ensures a car runs smoothly, steers correctly, and maintains safety, alignment in education ensures that curriculum, teaching, and assessment work harmoniously toward common goals. Misalignment, whether in a car or in education, leads to inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and potential failure to reach the intended destination—in this case, meaningful, valid assessment outcomes.
Figueras stressed that aligning assessments to the CEFR promotes transparency, quality, and accountability. She emphasized the importance of using CEFR “can do” descriptors, maintaining task authenticity, and understanding language proficiency as a construct.
Participants actively engaged with examples of test items, judging their appropriateness for different CEFR levels. A significant portion of the workshop explored standard setting, including methods like the Modified-Angoff and Item-descriptor matching procedures, and highlighted the importance of judge training, empirical evidence, and local adaptation.
The workshop concluded by reinforcing the idea that alignment is not a one-size-fits-all formula, but a flexible, well-documented process tailored to specific educational contexts and resources.