Analysis of item writing flaws (IWFs) evident in objective formats examination questions in federal college of education (technical) Asaba, Nigeria

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Jan 11, 2021
https://doi.org/10.47434/JEREDA.1.3.2020.181
Download
PDF
Statistic

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Vol. 1 No. 3 (2020)

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Peter Olorunmowaju Ajayi
Department of Educational Psychology, Federal College of Education (Technical), Nigeria
Vivian Ozofu Idusogie
Department of Educational Evaluation and Counselling Psychology, University of Benin, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to ascertain IWFs contained in objective formats examination questions for assessment of students in the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programme in 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and first semester 2018/2019 academic sessions.


Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted which enabled the researchers to estimate prevalence (number of cases) of IWFs associated with objective questions constructed for end-of-semester examinations. The researchers retrieved 57 objective question papers administered in end-of-semester examinations centrally conducted in the College within the period of three academic sessions (2016/2017, 2017/2018 and first semester 2018/2019). 19 common violations of item writing principles were selected from literature and used in assessing the quality of 57 objective questions. The study classified test items in each of the 57 objective question papers into standard and flawed categories such that if an item is flawed, the exact type of flaw(s) (including options) was recorded.


Results: The results showed that short answer, multiple choice and alternate response questions are the types of objective test formats constructed by lecturers; there was a high rate of violation of standard item writing rules in most objective semester examination questions constructed by lecturers; and the nature of the four most frequently violated IWFs were related to irrelevant difficulty which tended to make questions or tasks more difficult than intended.


Recommendations/Classroom Implications: College management should organize seminar or workshop at regular interval to train or update lecturers’ knowledge on test construction skills and tips.

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Ajayi, P. O., & Idusogie, V. O. . (2021). Analysis of item writing flaws (IWFs) evident in objective formats examination questions in federal college of education (technical) Asaba, Nigeria. Journal of Educational Research in Developing Areas, 1(3), 181-191. https://doi.org/10.47434/JEREDA.1.3.2020.181
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. Ali, S. H., & Ruit, K. G. (2015). The impact of item flaws, testing at low cognitive level, and low distractor functioning on multiple-choice question quality. Perspective of Medical Education, 4, 244 - 251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-015-0212-x.
  2. Baig, M., Ali, S. K., Ali, S., & Huda, N. (2014). Evaluation of multiple choice and short essay question items in basic medical sciences. Pakistani Journal of Medical Science, 30, 3-6.
  3. Federal Ministry of Education (2012). National Commission for Colleges of Education curriculum implementation framework for Nigeria certificate in education. Nasara Press Ltd.
  4. Federal Ministry of Education (2014). National policy on education (6th ed.). NERDC Printing Press.
  5. Kesmodel, U. S. (2018). Cross-sectional studies: What are they good for? Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 97, 388–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13331.
  6. Khan, H. F., Danish, K. F., Awan, A. S., & Anwar, M. (2013). Identification of technical item flaws leads to improvement of the quality of single best multiple -choice questions. Pakistani Journal of Medical Science, 29(3), 715-718. http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.293.2993.
  7. Lee, O. K. (2012). Test planning: Constructing language tests. https://wwww.smartt2.ums.edu.my.
  8. Nedeau-Cayo, R., Laughlin, D., Rus, L. & Hall, J. (2013). Assessment of item-writing flaws in multiple-choice questions. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 9(2), 52-57. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0b013e318286c2f1.
  9. Okoye, R. O. (2015). Educational and psychological measurement and evaluation (2nd edition). Erudition Publishers.
  10. Omorogiuwa, O. K. (2010). An introduction to educational measurement and evaluation. Perfect Touch Print.
  11. Ovat, S., & Ofem, U. J. (2017). Teachers’ variables and application of test blue prints in learners’ assessment in secondary schools in Cross River State. International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 10 (1), 112-118.
  12. Pais , J., Silva, A., Guimarães, B., Povo, A., Coelho, E., Silva Pereira, F., Lourinho, I., Ferreira, M. A. & Severo, M. (2016). Do item-writing flaws reduce examinations psychometric quality? BioMed Central Research Note, 9 (399), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-2202-4.
  13. Pham, H., Besanko, J., & Devitt, P. (2018). Examining the impact of specific types of item writing flaws on student performance and psychometric properties of the multiple choice question. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000225.1.
  14. Royal, K. D., Hedgpeth, M. W. & Posner, L. P. (2018). A simple method for discerning item construction flaws in health professions examinations. Health Profession Education, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2018.03.001.
  15. Rush, B. R., Rankin, D. C & White, B. J. (2016).The impact of item-writing flaws and item complexity on examination item difficulty and discrimination value. BMC Medical Education, 16, 250. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0773-3.
  16. Silker, R. T. (2003). Teachers and tests. Basil Blackwell.
  17. Simon, M. K., & Goes, J. (2013). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success. Seattle, WA: Dissertation success LLC. www.dissertationrecipes.com
  18. Tariq, S., Tariq, S., Maqsood, S., Jawed, S. & Baig, M. (2017). Evaluation of cognitive levels and item writing flaws in medical pharmacology internal assessment examinations. Pakistan Journal of Medical Science. 33 (4), 866-870. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.334.12887.
  19. Udoh, E. G. (2016). Students’ perception of multiple choice item format and mathematics achievement test in junior secondary schools in Uyo Educational Zone of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Academia Journal of Educational Research, 4 (7), 111-116. https://doi.org/10.15413/ajer.2016.0117.