문항반응이론을 활용한 한글 해득용 단어 읽기 문항의 난도에 대한 연구: 「한글 또박또박」의 전국 규모 진단 데이터를 활용하여

Abstract

Purpose : This study considered learner abilities and used diagnostic data from 150,000 lower elementary school learners to examine the level of difficulty of the word decoding items of Hangeul Tobak-tobak based on the item response theory. Methods: The study determined the difficulty level of 73 items, and the total range of difficulty was divided into three levels by domain. Results: The average difficulty of each subdomain of word decoding was as follows: basic vowels <basic consonants < consonant words (meaning) < various consonants < consonant words (meaningless) < complex vowels < representative final consonant letters < representative final consonant words (meaning) < complex final consonant words (meaning) < representative final consonant words (meaningless). The study observed significant variation in the degree of difficulty perceived by students even for words or letters within the same domain. We summarize the findings as follows. First, the study derived valid and reliable item difficulty levels for 73 word reading items in the reading section of the Hangeul Tobak-tobak test tool using large-scale national diagnostic data. Second, for certain domains, words within a domain represented varying levels of difficulty. Third, the presence or absence of a final consonant was a significant factor in determining the difficulty of word reading tasks under similar conditions. Fourth, the factors that influence the difficulty of semantic words, such as letter structure, grapheme–phoneme correspondence, and frequency of word use, can be considered together, but determining a consistent trend is difficult. Significance: This study provided valid and reliable information on the difficulty of word decoding items based on nationwide learner data and produced objective guidelines for selecting groups for future research on basic literacy, which includes Korean language acquisition, and for interpreting research results. The results have implications on the development of teaching and learning materials in related fields.