Item Writing with Elements of Artificial Intelligence - Advanced        

This innovative advanced course in Item Writing for language tests has been created to facilitate the needs of those item writers who need a more in-depth knowledge and solutions. 

The course also tackles the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Item Writing and will demonstrate how AI can be used in the process.

What knowledge and/or skills will I gain from this course?

The course will be divided into two parts: Advanced Item Writing sessions, and elements of Artificial Intelligence in Item Writing. 

In the Advanced Item Writing part, you’ll look at the interplay between the language skills in assessment: reading, speaking, listening and writing.  You’ll discuss choice of task type in relation to CEFR descriptors and functional competency descriptors.  Producing assessment criteria for speaking and writing as well as developing Item writer Guidelines will also be covered.

For many organizations Language Test Item Writing has also become a digital process, with the use of digital resources, tools and online applications. In the Advanced Elements of Artificial Intelligence in Item Writing sessions you will discuss   the digital side of Item Writing: item types, configuring automatic or human correction, scores, using metadata, using on-the-fly test generation.

You will also discuss questions such as:  

• How can AI help to generate materials for a test? 
• Can AI help to define the (CEFR) level of a question? 
• Can AI (help to) generate full items? 
• Should item writers think about automatic correction or grading when designing the items?

How is this course delivered?

This course is delivered online via Microsoft Teams. It is divided into two parts across across four full days and two half days. Please see below how the course is structured, so you can plan your calendar accordingly. 

PART 1: READING & SPEAKING: 

Day 1: 28 October (Monday), 10 am* – 1 pm & 2 pm – 5 pm – Advanced Item Writing: Communicative language competences and testing   
Day 2: 29 October (Tuesday), 10 am – 1 pm (half a day) – Artificial Intelligence in Item Writing
Day 3: 30 October (Wednesday), 10 am – 1 pm & 2 pm – 5 pm – Advanced Item Writing: Communicative language competences and testing – cont. 

PART 2: WRITING & LISTENING:  

Day 1: 13 November (Wednesday), 10 am – 1 pm & 2 pm – 5 pm – Advanced Item Writing : Productive skills and assessment criteria
Day 2: 14 November (Thursday), 10 am – 1 pm (half a day) – Artificial Intelligence in Item Writing
Day 3: 15 November (Friday), 10 am – 1 pm & 2 pm – 5 pm – Advanced Item Writing:  Productive skills and assessment criteria – cont.; Developing test Specifications and Item Writer Guidelines.
*All times are in the CET zone. 

Although ALTE created the course mainly for those who have participated in the ALTE Item Writing Basic course, the course is open to anyone interested in deepening their knowledge of Item Writing. If you haven’t participated in the ALTE Item Writing Basic course, Annie Broadhead, will run an additional session so that you can refresh your knowledge, or catch-up if needed. This session is optional but will give you a useful overview and will set you up for the upcoming course. 

Please note that it is possible to join part 1 or part 2 of this course only. However,  we encourage you to participate in both parts as this will be more beneficial, both for you, the tutors and other participants, so the same group can be maintained.  If you would like to join only one part of this course, please select the part when registering. 

Who are the course tutors?

The tutors are Annie Broadhead and Bert Wylin, two world-class consultants to deliver this unique and state-of-art course. 

Annie Broadhead is an Assessment consultant, ESOL teacher trainer, test developer and ELT author based in Cambridge, UK. Annie has run online courses in the Principles of Testing and ALTE Item Writer courses in several countries. Annie has delivered various courses for ALTE across the years, such as ALTE Item Writing Course - Getting to know the basics. She has experience of writing tests for all ages and at all levels. She is passionate about helping people produce good tests that have a positive washback effect on teaching and learning.

Bert Wylin has both an academic and a business profile. He has worked at the KU Leuven since 1993, leading the Education Innovation Centre (integrating EdTech in education). In 2001, he founded a KU Leuven university spin-off, now Televic Education, developing and servicing an e-assessment platform. Bert has delivered various courses for ALTE such as Developing Digital Assessments and Developing Digital Testing with Artificial Intelligence.  

When is the next course?

The next Item Writing course will be in October and November 2024. Please see the dates above. 

How can I register?

To register for this course, click here.

Expression of Interest

If you would like to express your interest in this course, or any other ALTE course, please click here.

Can several people from the same organisation join this course?

For group bookings, ALTE advises to book a maximum of three places per organisation.

How can I pay?

Full payment is required on registration. We strongly recommend that payment is made online using a Visa, MasterCard or American Express. However, if it is not possible to pay with a credit/debit card when registering, please contact the ALTE Services Unit (servicesunit@alte.org) to request an invoice with bank transfer payment instructions.