Evaluating Listening Comprehension Tests Through Classical Test Theory: Analysing Item Difficulty and Discrimination

Listening comprehension plays a crucial role in second language (L2) acquisition, and reliable assessment is essential for measuring learner proficiency. This study examines the quality of a 25-item listening comprehension test taken by 34 first-year university students, using Classical Test Theory (CTT) for item analysis. Findings showed that 52% of items were moderately difficult, 28% easy, and 20% difficult, indicating overall balance but with some mismatches to students’ proficiency levels. In terms of discrimination, 72% of the items effectively distinguished between high- and low-performing students, though some items showed weak discrimination, particularly at difficulty extremes. Distractor analysis further revealed issues with implausible options that affected test reliability. The study highlights the importance of moderately difficult items for stronger discrimination and recommends revising weak items and distractors. These findings offer practical insights for language educators and test developers in improving the validity and fairness of listening comprehension assessments.