LOCATION DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING OF TEST ITEMS OF 2015 JOINT SENIOR SECONDARY II MATHEMATICS PROMOTION EXAMINATION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Authors

  • Festus Sunday Smart Oloda National Mathematical Centre, Sheda-Kwali, Abuja, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v8i2.3607

Keywords:

differential item functioning, item biased, joint senior secondary ii promotion examination, latent trait, mathematics

Abstract

The research is aimed at finding out whether the multiple- choice mathematic items of Ondo State Joint Senior Secondary II Promotion Examination (OSJSSPE) administered in 2015 function differentially in terms of the location (rural and urban) of the examinees and also investigate if the examination is unidimensional with a view to improving the quality of test items in the examination. The study employed an ex-post facto research design. A sample of 3,135 examinees was selected from a population of 52,922 examinees who sat for the examination using multistage random sampling techniques. One research question was raised, and one hypothesis formulated and tested for significance at p<0.05 level. Results of the analyses revealed that the Ondo State Joint Senior Secondary II Promotion Examination multiple – choice mathematics items administered in 2015 was unidimensional. However, the result revealed that some of the OSJSSPE multiple – choice mathematics items administered in 2015 displayed Differential Item Functioning (DIF) based on the school location of the examinees. It was recommended that teachers, officials of the Examination Department in the Ministry of Education should be trained on item writing by test developers, which will in turn improve the quality of students’ assessment in secondary schools.

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Author Biography

  • Festus Sunday Smart Oloda, National Mathematical Centre, Sheda-Kwali, Abuja, Nigeria
    Oloda, Festus Sunday Smart (PhD) is a Research Fellow I in the Mathematical Sciences Education Programme at the National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Abuja, Nigeria. He obtained a Certificate in Education (NCE, Economics/Mathematics) from Lagos State College of Education, Ijanikin, Lagos. He bagged Bachelor of Science Education (Mathematics) degree from University of Lagos, Akoka-Lagos. He obtained his Master in Education (Tests and Measurement) and Doctor of Philosophy (Tests and Measurement) from Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He has conducted extensive research in self-assessment of students in mathematics, Differential item functioning (DIF) of test items in mathematics, and Determinants of student’s performance in mathematics. Dr. Oloda, F.S.S is a member of Ethno- Mathematics Research group, a joint project of the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) and Prof. Nkechi Madona Agwu, a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow in the USA. Also, he is a member of Mathematical Sciences Education Research group at the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, Nigeria. He is a registered member of the Teacher’s Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN).

References

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Published

2021-03-02

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Articles

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