Effects of Computer-Based Test (CBT) and Paper and Pencil Test (PPT) on Academic Achievement and Test Anxiety of Secondary School Students’ in Economics

Abstract

Investigated in this study were the effects of Computer Based Test (CBT) and Paper and Pencil Tests (PPT) on Secondary School (SS) students’ academic achievement and test anxiety in Economics. The pretest-posttest non-randomized control group design was used as the research design. The study was done in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. All Senior Secondary II (SSII) students who offered Economics comprised the study’s population. 107 SS II students were selected as the sample. Two instruments - Economics Achievement Test (EAT) and Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) were used for data collection. Both EAT and TAI were validated by the experts. The reliability coefficients of the instruments were .95 and .68, respectively. The data collected were analyzed using mean statistics to answer two research questions, whereas two formulated null hypotheses were tested at a .05 level of significance using ANCOVA. The findings of the study indicated that students’ mean achievement scores in PPT were slightly higher than students’ mean achievement scores in CBT and the students’ mean achievement scores were significantly different. Students in PPT exhibited greater test anxiety than their counterparts in CBT, even though the difference in the mean test anxiety scores of students in CBT and PPT was not significant. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended, among others, that the Federal Government should make and implement policies to mandate senior secondary students to use PPT for all internal assessments in various subjects in the country.