The Item Bank: Pertinency and Opportunities

The article outlines a vision of the conceptualization of an item bank for Romanian Language and Literature as a gymnasium and lyceum-level subject and as an object of certification assessment. We suggest setting up an item bank with three distinct compartments: (1) prototype items, which constitute the matrix part of the test; (2) model items, adapted to specific curricular contents; (3) sample items, which may be applied based on the chosen text or linguistic material. The examples we provide for these item categories are organized according to Bloom’s taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The item examples are based on content units, which concern the study of vocabulary at gymnasium level and lexicology – at lyceum level. The consecutive development and application of such a document may help standardize assessment tasks, preparing all educational actors for a most rigorous approach to assessment