Development and Validation of Mathematics Achievement Test based on Gender of Middle Basic Pupils in Akwa Ibom State
Keywords:
Mathematics achievement test, difficulty index, discrimination index, distractor index, reliabilityAbstract
The development and validation of a mathematics achievement test in the middle basic schools in Akwa Ibom State aims to estimate the item parameters (content validity (CVI), difficulty indices, discrimination indices and the reliability index) of the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) for basic 6 pupils and ascertain the conceptual understanding of male and female basic 6 pupils in mathematics using MAT in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study sample comprised 200 basic 6 pupils (102 females and 98 males), selected using a multistage sampling technique. Two research hypotheses were formulated and tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-developed, 50-item, 4-option, multiple-choice, structured diagnostic test titled: Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), with a reliability coefficient of 0.79, determined using the Kuder Richardson 20 formula. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that with a content validity index (CVI) of 0.80, difficulty indices of the items ranging from 38.0% to 67.0%, discrimination indices of the items ranging between 0.35 and 0.64 and distractor indices ranging between 0.00 and 0.08, the MAT is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring achievements in mathematics. Hence, it was recommended, among other things, that teachers should always measure the educational achievements of pupils and ensure that the items are valid and relevant to the course objectives.
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