Guessing Parameters and Multiple-Choice Test Items of 2016 - 2017 National Examination Council (NECO) Mathematics Examination Instruments in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State

Abstract

This study this study therefore examines guessing parameters and 2016 and 2017 NECO Mathematics multiple choice test items in Calabar education zone. The research objectives specifically compared the guessing parameter of the 2016 and 2017 NECO Mathematics multiple-choice test items; and also, compared the measurement theories and year of examination on reliability coefficient of 2016 and 2017 NECO Mathematics multiple-choice test items in Calabar education zone, Cross River State. To guide the study two research questions and hypotheses were further formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instrumentation research design was adopted for the study. One thousand three hundred and fifty-one (1,351) students were selected using the stratified random sampling procedure. Two instruments, namely the 2016 and 2017 NECO mathematics multiple choice tests were used for data collection. Using ANOVA and correlated t-test to analyze data collected from the field, the result reveals that guessing parameter and reliability indices of the 2016 and 2017 NECO mathematics multiple choice tests were significantly different. It was concluded that guessing parameters differed significantly with the years of study and also, there was a significant influence of measurement theory and year of test on item reliability on NECO mathematics examination papers significant difference exists between psychometric properties using the different measurement theories. Based on these findings, it was recommended that NECO should use the item response theory (IRT) in assessment for its relative merit over the CTT.