Testing in educational system perform a number of functions, the results from a test can be used to make a number of decisions in education. It is therefore well accepted in the education literature that, testing is an important element of education. To effectively utilize the tests in educational policies and quality assurance its validity and reliability estimates are necessary. There are two generally acceptable frameworks used in evaluating the quality of test in educational and psychological measurements, these are; Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). The estimates of test items validity and reliability depend on a particular measurement model used. It is vital for a test developer to be familiar with the different test development and item analysis methods in order to facilitate the development of a new test. The CTT is a traditional approach which was widely criticise in the measurement community for its shortcomings such as sample dependency of coefficient measures and estimates of measurement error. However, the IRT is a modern approach which provides solutions to most of the CTT"s identified shortcomings. This paper therefore, provides a comprehensive overview of the IRT and its procedures as applied to test item development and analysis. The paper concludes with some suggestions for test developers and test specialists at all levels to adopt IRT for its identified crucial theoretical and empirical gains over CTT. IRT based parameter estimates should be superior and reliable than CTT based parameter estimates. With these features, IRT can help resolve the problems associated with test design based on CTT Keyword:Classical Test Theory Item Response Theory Reliability Validity
Science education is believed to be a vital tool for individual and societal development at large. The persistent low levels of students' achievement in sciences at the various public examinations in Nigeria have continued to draw the attention of major stakeholders in education. This study examined academic achievement of Senior Secondary School students in biology and gender difference in students' achievement was examined. Ex-post facto design of descriptive research was adopted for the study. A proforma was used to collect data from a sample of two hundred (200) students, selected using stratified random sampling procedure from the Science secondary schools in Kano state Nigeria. The data collected were the students' performances in biology achievement tests. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and independent-sample t-test. Overall results showed that the test internal consistency reliability is low and unsatisfactory; the students performed below average (M=47.02, SD=16.493 (47%). Similarly, gender difference exists in biology performance with another significant difference between performance of urban and rural school students. The study concludes that, biology test used in Kano state qualifying examinations to assess students potential ability in biology is not a reliable measurement tool and that, academic performance of students in biology is unsatisfactory and evidence of differential performance between gender and schools locations. The implication for measurements and evaluation of learning as well as recommendations has been discussed.
High-stakes testing is used for the purposes of providing results that have important consequences. Validity is the cornerstone upon which all measurement systems are built. This study applied the Item Response Theory principles to analyse Northwest University Kano Post-UTME Economics test items. The developed fifty (50) economics test items was administered to a sample of 600 students. The data obtained was analysed using XCALIBRE 4 and SPSS 20v softwares to determine items parameters base on IRT models. Indicate that, the test measure single trait by satisfying the condition of unidimensionality. Similarly, the goodness of fit test revealed that, the two parameter IRT model was more suitable since no misfit item was observed and the test reliability was 0.86. The mean examinee ability was 0.07 (SD = 0.94). The mean item difficulty was -0.63(SD = 2.54) and mean item discrimination was 0.28 (SD = 0.04). 16 (33%) items were identified as “problematic” based on difficulty indices, 35(71%) also failed to meet the set standards on the basis of discrimination parameters. it can be concluded that, using the IRT approach, the NWU Post-UTME items are not stable as far as item difficulty and discrimination indices are concerned. It is recommended that, the Post-UTME items should be made to pass through all process of standardisation and validation; test development and content experts should be involve in developing and validating the test items in order to obtain valid and reliable results which will lead to valid inferences
The drive to improve basic education delivery in Nigeria has been given tremendous impetus in recent years. The goal of basic education can only be realised through provision of inclusive, equitable and quality education; several indicators have shown that authorities jettison quality to focus in increasing access. This paper, therefore, reviews the provision and delivery of basic education in Kano state. Specifically, the paper revealed how increasing enrolment in affects the efforts to improve the quality of education in the state. While the government initiatives made significant differences by increasing access to education of children who would have been denied schooling, quality indicators which include teachers-pupil ratio, students’ academic achievement, attrition and completion rates have stagnated at best or dropped. Efforts to ensure and maintain quality education in the state are reported to face serious challenges, including mainly inadequate funding that will ensure provision of essential teaching and learning facilities and insufficient trained and competent teachers. Finally, the paper recommends among others that, adequate funding and ensuring judicious management of the funds, competent teachers should be engaged and their welfare be adequately improved, as well as the supply and maintenances of teaching and learning facilities. Sincerity in the implementations of these and other recommendations would positively affect the over 3.5 million children in basic education, encouraging further enrolment and improving the quality of education they receive. Keywords: Access, completion rate teaching, enrolment, quality education
The study aims to investigate the attitudes of Nigerian postgraduate students towards information and communication technology (ICT) and their perceived competence in using ICT resources for research purpose. The influence of field of studies on their competence and attitude were also examined. A total of 77 Nigerian postgraduate students at a university in Malaysia were randomly selected for the study. Data collected through questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistic approaches. The analysis reveals that majority of the postgraduate students have positive attitude towards ICT and they perceive that they are competent in using several basic ICT tools. There is no significant difference between science and non-science based postgraduate students’ attitudes, however, there is significant difference in their perceived competence. This paper concludes that the postgraduate students require more hands-on experiences and special training programs so that they can maximize the use of ICT for research purpose. It is hoped that the findings revealed in this study will help the policy makers in designing necessary courses to improve the quality of postgraduates in the country.Keywords: Information and communication technology, Malaysia, Nigerian student, postgraduate, students’ attitudeCite as: Bichi, A.A., Embong, R., & Rashid, R.A. (2017). Nigerian postgraduate students’ attitude and perceived competence in using ICT resources for research purpose. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2(2), 224-230.
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