Teachers’ Characteristics and Test Construction Ability in Technical Collegesin Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

The variation in students’ performance on standardise tests and teachers made tests even when tested in the same content and subject matter was of great concern to the researcher. The need for the teachers to follow accurate steps in test construction necessitate this study. The main purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which teachers’ characteristics influence their test construction ability. In specific terms, the study sought to determine whether teachers’ years of teaching experience, qualification and professionalism influences their test construction ability. To achieve the purpose of this study, three objectives with corresponding research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. In order to get more insight into the study, literatures were reviewed. This study adopted an ex-post facto research design. The study was conducted in Technical Colleges in Akwa Ibom State with a population of 392 teachers in the 2022/2023 academic session. All the teachers were used as samples because of the small population. The main instrument for data collection was a 40-item questionnaire titled ‘teachers test construction ability questionnaire (TconAbility)’ designed using a five-point Likert scale. The instrument was designed in two parts, part 1 gathered information on teachers’ characteristics and part II measured teachers’ test construction ability. The instrument was validated by three experts in educational evaluation from the University of Uyo. The reliability stand of the instrument was .81. Data was collected personally and through the use of five trained research assistants in each of the Technical Colleges in the study area. Mean, standard deviation, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for data analysis. The result of the analysis indicated that there is a significant influence of years of teaching experience, qualification, and professionalism on teachers’ test construction ability. Based on the findings, it was concluded that teachers’ characteristics influenced their teat construction ability. The study recommended, among others, that during test and measurement courses in the institution of higher learning, evaluation should be based on practical not paper-pencil tests.