Evaluating the Alignment Between Reading Passages and End-of-Chapter Questions in the Lao Language Textbook for Primary Education

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to analyze the degree of alignment between end-of-chapter questions and the content of reading passages in the newly revised Lao Language textbooks for primary school (Grades 3–5). The sample, selected through purposive sampling, consisted of 28 reading passages and 98 end-of-chapter questions from the Grade 3 (2021), Grade 4 (2022), and Grade 5 (2023) textbooks. The research instrument was an analysis protocol based on Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Question–Answer Relationship (QAR) framework. The findings show that, for grade 3, out of 58 questions, 52 (89.7%) showed high alignment, 6 (10.3%) showed moderate alignment, and none were misaligned. For grade 4, out of 17 questions, 12 (70.6%) showed high alignment, 3 (17.6%) showed moderate alignment, and 2 (11.8%) were misaligned. For grade 5, out of 23 questions, 21 (91.3%) showed high alignment, none showed moderate alignment, and 2 (8.7%) were misaligned. Overall, across all three grades, out of 98 questions, 85 (86.7%) demonstrated high alignment, 9 (9.2%) showed moderate alignment, and only 4 (4.1%) were misaligned. Highly aligned questions typically emphasized main ideas and key reasons, whereas misalignments were primarily due to technical flaws in question design. This newly revised Lao Language textbook series demonstrates strong alignment between reading passages and end-of-chapter questions, making it an effective tool for assessing comprehension and fostering students’ thinking skills.