Evaluation of 10th Grade English Textbook Activities Using Rasch Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine the data collected using a scale to be developed in order to determine the
functionality of foreign language activities in the 10th grade English textbook used by Turkish Ministry of National
Education, using the Multi-Facet Rasch Model (MFRM). The study aims to focus on the extent to which the CEFR
(Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and holistic education approach, which are
particularly emphasized in the “Turkish Century Education Model”, are reflected in the content of the language
book. The 10 units of the book were evaluated by a nine-person evaluation board consisting of three experts from
foreign language education, program development, and assessment & evaluation disciplines. These experts
examined the content of the book using the “Textbook Evaluation Rubric” which was developed particularly for
this study. Furthermore, it was primarily aimed to determine how effective the foreign language activities in the
book would be when the purposes of skills acquisition and holistic education that might bring different skills
together were observed, and what they promised in terms of usability and difficulty levels for language learners
was analysed. Finally, the functionality of the category levels of the textbook evaluation rubric were checked and
whether they were at a statistically acceptable level were tested and identified. The last but not the least, in the
light of the results compiled from the study; how effective and explanatory MFRM could be in such empirical
studies where there are many surfaces and each surface is intended to be examined in detail have been discussed
based on the findings obtained from each research phase.