Identifying Learning Patterns in the Upper-Intermediate Level of English Through Large-Scale Testing

In this paper we will summarize the rationale and validation process of a multiple choice test developed at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) to regulate the students’ access to the subject “English for Professional and Academic Communication” for which a B2 proficiency level, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), was established as a minimum level. Item difficulty and item discrimination are studied and analyzed from the large-scale application of the test to 924 students. The aim of the study is to reach preliminary conclusions about possible areas where sequential learning on the part of students could be studied.