ASSESSING THE VALIDITY AND QUALITY OF MATHEMATICS TEST CONTENT IN THE BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed the content validity and quality of Mathematics tests used in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Imo State, Nigeria. Guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses, the study adopted an analytic survey design. The population comprised 240 test items, which also served as the sample, drawn from BECE Mathematics examinations administered between 2019 and 2022. Frequency counts and proportions were used to address the research questions, while chi-square and one-sample proportion tests were employed to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed that the extent of dependence of test items on BECE Mathematics content areas was significantly independent of the years. The proportional distribution of test items across content areas was not significantly greater than 0.75, and there was no significant association between the years and the distribution of item facility indices within the acceptable range. Overall, the quality of the tests, as measured by item facility indices, remained stable, though the proportions of items within the acceptable range varied across the years. It was concluded that although the Mathematics tests demonstrated reliability, they exhibited a low degree of content validity. The study recommends that subject experts in Mathematics, as well as specialists in measurement and evaluation, be actively involved in test construction to ensure alignment with curriculum standards and to enhance the validity of examination items.