Evaluation of Item Response Theory in the Development and Validation of Multiple Choice Tests in Mathematics among Adolescents in Lagos Metropolis
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021-02
Authors
Akanni, O.O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Education (JOE). Faculty of Education, Kampala International University, Tanzania.
Abstract
The concern with measures of psychological traits is old and many studies and proposals of methods were developed to achieve this goal. Among these proposed methods is the Item Response Theory (IRT) which in principle completes the limitations of the Classical Test Theory. The study applied item response theory in the development and instrumentation research design. A sample of 300 Mathematics junior secondary school II students was randomly selected from a population of 23,768 Mathematics students in Lagos Education District 11. To guide this study, two hypotheses were formulated at 0.05 level of significance.. The Mathematics Multiple choice test items numbering fifty items were developed by the researcher and used for data collection. The reliability index of 0.89 was obtained when tested during the pilot study. The data generated from the study were analyzed using maximum likelihood estimation technique of BILOG-MG computer programming (a software program for the development, analysis, scoring and maintenance of educational and other measurements within the statistical framework of item response theory. The analysis of the data revealed that 50 test items of Mathematics survived therefore, the final instrument developed for assessing students’ ability in Mathematics contained 50 items with the appropriate indices. The result of the study showed that 49 items of the multiple choice question in Mathematics were reliable based on the three parameter model (3pl) model (item difficulty parameter; item discrimination parameter and item guessing). The findings also showed that thirty-one (31) items of the mathematics multiple-choice test in mathematics were difficult. The findings further revealed that items functions differential in mathematics among male and female students. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include that the examination bodies and teachers should encourage and adopt IRT (Item Response Theory) in developing test items used in measuring students’ ability in Mathematics.
Description
Scholarly Article
Keywords
Evaluation , Item Response Theory , Development , Validation , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Education
Citation
Akanni,O.O. (2021). Evaluation of Item Response Theory in the Development and Validation of Multiple Choice Tests in Mathematics among Adolescents in Lagos Metropolis. Journal of Education (JOE). Faculty of Education, Kampala International University, Tanzania,14(1), 141-157.